“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.”
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
A matter of perspective
‘But don’t you see you miss the point Albert, you choose to withdraw from the idea that this life has a meaning, when in fact that meaning has already been given to you. You resist it, as if the potential for god giving your life meaning is futile. It really is a great shame.’ ‘I…
The boy in the coffee shop
‘The usual?’ ‘Please.’ I had already begun turning as he spoke, and pressed the portafilter into the slot beneath the bean grinder. I heard the ding of the payment go through, then turned to watch the back of the boy walking towards the same table he always chose, whenever it was free…
The Anxious philosopher
To suffer anxious thoughts may be dichotomous with the purpose of philosophical thinking. Yet, in the pursuit of knowledge, anxiety may be acquired. To be anxious is to be human, and to be anxious, we must feel. To feel, we must think, and to think, is the job of a philosopher. This comical oversimplification of…
“In writing, one steps back and steps outside life in order to view it more dispassionately, both more distantly and more proximately. With a steadier eye.”
Simon Critchley, Notes on Suicide
The Anxious Philosopher 
