Skip to main content

Living

 

To analyze our own existence, to draw out ourselves and the people around us, and to begin to understand, slowly and carefully, the meaning of life and how it ought to be lived—that is the common goal of work and art.

In a million different ways, through a million different media, we are all seeking answers to our questions. Questions of self, questions of others, questions of the world around us; in every walk of life, there are questions to be answered. And with each question we answer, we gain a stronger sense of self and of security of our position within the world. By continuing to wonder and to seek out answers, we are insisting on living, and not simply existing.

The only measure of success, then, is not your existence to yourself, but how you have lived. If you are a kinder person than you were before, if you are more patient, more loving, more ready to forgive—then you have asked the right questions and you have found the right answers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Family - A Sestina

All together and laughing, the family Fills the long, low house on the farm; They gather naturally to drink coffee, To rein in the years and make them stand still. In his armchair, an old man smiles And shakes his white head at the children.   Squirming with impatience, the children Play on the floor while the family Stands with hands in pockets and smiles And discusses a new tractor for the farm, While someone asks if the old one works still And someone starts a fresh pot of coffee.   The sound of beans grinding and the coffee Dripping, drowns the sound of the children Who must take loud games outside, or be still. One sister starts dinner for the family and listens to the talk of the farm. They ask how school’s going and she smiles.   Mom watches from a corner and smiles; She laughs at the jokes and makes more coffee And watches the sun set over the farm, Her kind eyes falling on the playing children. Dad kisses her chee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy Valentine's Day!

Although the commercial focus is on romantic love, Valentine’s Day is a good time to think about love in general, as a force and as a philosophy of life. People describe love in a million ways and tack on countless definitions to it that vary infinitely, and yet love remains the same and is understood in the same way by all, because love eludes the intellect and impresses itself instead into the heart and soul. All of the most fundamental things do so, because the intellect is the least fundamental form of existence. The intellect deals with existence after it has taken a physical form, when it has reached its most tangible state. The intellect deals with existence at its surface, and analyzes the ripples in the water rather than the original disturbance. Nothing that deals with the form of existence rather than the spirit can truly comprehend love. But, like anything, love takes a form, and that is precisely where the confusion arises. Love makes ripples in the water, but the ripple...
Post a Comment
Read more

Economics of Easter: Egg Hunting, Fiscal Policy and Lessons for Life

 By Timothy Verrinder To understand the complex world around us, it is helpful to simply imagine everyone as children. Somehow, the thought of a boardroom of children in suits and dress skirts with pen, paper, phones and coffee cups makes the content of any business meeting seem more accessible. The courtroom with a seven-year-old on trial before a pudgy, bespectacled and robed judge and a jury of his “peers” might be another example. Even in politics, where it’s not so much a stretch of one’s imagination to view everyone as children, it is a helpful exercise not just in reducing the complexity of things, but also the intimidation factor which accompanies complexity. Little Mr. Stevens standing on a stool to write on the whiteboard doesn’t quite evoke the intrigue and competition associated with corporate life. The lawyer’s powers of persuasion and legal acumen are rendered laughable as soon as little Ms. Sanchez says “ladies and gentlemen of the jury.” As for politics, well, much ...
Post a Comment
Read more