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You might be busy getting on with your life, then suddenly wonder, who am I, what am I doing, for whom and to what end am I living like this? Is there any meaning to this? Even if I were to fail, or if I were to die, or even if something bigger were to happen, it’s only for an instant, it has no impact on the universe, the Earth will keep rotating
... See moreLena Lee • Girl Uprooted: A Memoir
defined existentialism: ‘Existence precedes essence’. What this formula gains in brevity it loses in comprehensibility. But roughly it means that, having found myself thrown into the world, I go on to create my own definition (or nature, or essence), in a way that never happens with other objects or life forms. You might think you have defined me b
... See moreSarah Bakewell • At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others
Existentialism is when the rational mind hijacks the meaning creation center.
Most of the time there is a gap between the life we know is possible and the one we live. That gap appears as restlessness, pain, longing, fear, irredeemable loneliness, your skin crawling—some uncomfortable state.
John Tarrant • Bring Me the Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life
Later, I sit myself down and pretend I’m the therapist.
“What will you have when this puzzle is finished?” the pretend-therapist asks.
“Something that looks like a life,” I blurt. “Something that feels like I lived. It’s not about pride, fame, or success. I just want to complete something—a task, a sentence, to let a train of thought run all the way
... See moreCrisis moments lead to existential openings that force us to grapple with the deepest questions about life. By way of loss or by way of wonderment. - Andrew Taggart
Your life is a firefly blink in a night. You’re here for such a brief period of time. If you fully acknowledge the futility of what you’re doing, then I think it can bring great happiness and peace because you realize this is a game. But it’s a fun game. All that matters is you experience your reality as you go through life. Why not interpret it in
... See moreTim Ferriss • The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness
The term “existential” may be used in three ways: to refer to (1) existence itself, i.e., the specifically human mode of being; (2) the meaning of existence; and (3) the striving to find a concrete meaning in personal existence, that is to say, the will to meaning.