man in formal suit jacket holding his necktie

Redefining Success: Beyond Your Job Title

In the modern world, our job titles tend to be the centerpiece of our identities. When you meet someone new at a social gathering, the first piece of information that they will likely disclose to the question ‘what do you do?’ is the details of your chosen profession. Your answer to this question will dictate how you will be perceived by others. If you tell … Continue reading Redefining Success: Beyond Your Job Title

art city clock clock face

Racing Against the Clock: A Meditation on Being Human in a World of Endless Possibility

On a planet that has existed for billions of years, the human lifespan is remarkably short. Assuming I live to 80, the average age of a Canadian male, I have about 4,000 weeks on this earth. If I am lucky and healthy enough to make it that long, that gives me about 2,500 weeks left. [1] Given the limits of our short existence, why is it … Continue reading Racing Against the Clock: A Meditation on Being Human in a World of Endless Possibility

photo of candles stones and book

Ikigai: the Search for Meaning

The search for meaning is inherent in the human being. In Japan there is even a specific word to define the importance of having a purpose in life: Ikigai. The Ikigai refers to the individual motivation, the one that makes us get out of bed every morning and that gives us the joy of living. There is no direct English translation. Ikigai does not need to … Continue reading Ikigai: the Search for Meaning

silhouette of people stargazing

The Meaning of Meaninglessness

Nihilism is a dangerous belief. The inability to make sense of it all leads many to conclude that life is entirely pointless. This, in turn, can lead to the belief that there is little point in trying at anything. Now, I’m not here to debate the existence of a grand creator. (Thank God, I hear you say.) I certainly don’t think there is anything wrong … Continue reading The Meaning of Meaninglessness

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These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

I’m curious to know what some of your favourite things are? But also, why are they your favourite things? For example, why is your favourite colour blue? Or why is your favourite band, say, the Beatles? Why is your favourite food strawberry ice cream?  Is it just because, or is there a deeper meaning behind those things? I started thinking about this because my eldest … Continue reading These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The other night I got into a pointless argument with someone after they decided to leave a comment on one of my older posts telling me that I should have my head examined. (A fair point in retrospect.) She said that Trump is a true American unlike Biden who is a horrible person. Naturally, she went on to say the election had been rigged. Now, I should … Continue reading Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The Pursuit Of Unhappiness

Apparently most of us have a default level of happiness. No mater what our station is in life, we are all slightly dissatisfied. Slightly. Life is just never quite good enough, even when it really is.  This default happiness level readjusts depending on your circumstances. Even if something great happens to you, like winning the lottery, you soon get over it and return to that … Continue reading The Pursuit Of Unhappiness

Seeking an outside-of-life meaning as a category mistake

By SeekerFive A very nice comment by @kjensenstudio pushed me to enlarge upon what I meant by suggesting, in a previous post, that “life is the condition for meaning and meaningfulness, rather than something that needs a single, permanent, or predetermined meaning.” Although I attempted to do so in a long-winded reply, I also want to share my attempt here. So I am first of … Continue reading Seeking an outside-of-life meaning as a category mistake

A condition for meaningfulness?

Recently, my teammate AP2 published a touching post about life’s meaning. A major point he sought to make was this: “our lives hold as much meaning as we give them” which he connects with the danger of losing a sense of meaningfulness, the danger of getting swallowed up by a personal existential nihilism, of becoming trapped in the darkness of perceived and felt pointlessness. This … Continue reading A condition for meaningfulness?

If you are in my life, you are good.

Hi everyone! How are you all doing? I had some interesting experiences recently with some people and that brought to my mind the question of how we should see the people who walk into our lives. I tend to think that anything we experience is ultimately good. Some are just good. Some are good by their resultant state. For example, I had a hard year … Continue reading If you are in my life, you are good.