Nothing is guaranteed.

The startled look on a person's face when they glance up from their phone and realise they are in an actual world.

It all depends.

Sometimes the only way to keep the future open, the only way to say yes to the future, is to say no to this or that.

Faith is not a safe harbor but risky business.

the event is the surprise

a radical softness : from the root

Lord, save me from myself.

More than the other senses, the eye objectifies and masters. It sets at a distance, maintains the distance. In our culture, the predominance of the look over smell, taste, touch, hearing, has brought about an impoverishment of bodily relations. The moment the look dominates, the body loses its materiality.

The quintessential First World problem: Too many attractive options.

The Laozi defines three categories of student: good, mediocre and poor. But really there are just the two – good and poor – and we all contain both in varying measure. The good student loves and works – gives – unconditionally; the poor student mocks and sneers – takes – always knows best. Heart and self. It is the teacher's job to force the student into situations where this dichotomy becomes obvious. It is then up to the student to regularly inhabit such situations and start to see the self – the poor student we all harbour – as the unwelcome foreign entity it really is.

μελέτη θανάτου

The more uncertain the future, the more important it will be to be in full possession of a sharp and ruthless spirit.

back and forth between being present in breath and lost in thought

Cynicism is the last resort of the intelligent depressive.

a virtuous immoderation

the radical ordinary