Resources have been dealt to each and every one of us unequally. Whether it be in type/degree of intelligence, economic resources, social resources, familial resources, we all drew a different lot. But the beauty of the situation is that we can all manipulate what we have to get what we don't have depending on our goals.
Religion
On Art
We are not animals. We are conscious, and we live through beauty, literature and art. We are inspired by concepts bigger than ourselves and we strive for ideals.
Quit Doing Things That Will Eventually Suffocate You
I get it. Sometimes you gotta make ends meet. Sometimes you have to do what has to be done to put the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos on the table. But maybe, just maybe, you've woken up from what felt like a living nightmare with a cold sweat like blood and asked yourself "How did I get here?" Maybe you had a realization, that the life you were living was suffocating you.
The Case For Thoughts And Prayers
No person believes that if they pray enough, God will stop bullets in the air. And no person believes that thoughts and prayers will bring their loved one back from the dead or prevent evil from rearing its ugly head.
Honorable Exile
In November 2008, Barack Obama, a junior senator from Illinois, was elected President of the United States. On January 20th, 2009, George W. Bush stepped down as the 43rd President and retreated to the quiet of West Texas. He managed to stay out of the public eye, and spent much of his time on charities for wounded veterans, relaxing with his family, or on the golf course. As tempting as it may have been, he refrained from weighing in on the impassioned public debates as they unfolded across his television over the next 8 years: hot-button issues such as universal healthcare, closing Guantanamo, the Iranian nuclear program, and climate change.
Lessons From Daedalus
The tale of Icarus and his wings of wax is one of the more famous classical myths. It tells of a talented Athenian craftsman named Daedalus who was trapped on the island of Crete with his son Icarus. Daedalus, you see, had built an unsolvable labyrinth to contain a beast called the Minotaur for the King of Crete near the King's palace in Knossos. When the King imprisoned the great hero Theseus in the Labyrinth to be killed by the Minotaur, Daedalus helped Theseus escape by giving him a special spool of string. For this, Daedalus and his son Icarus were themselves imprisoned within the Labyrinth.
On Shadows
We have a shadow, says Jung. A reservoir for human darkness. A place where everything we choose not to accept about ourselves exists. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it is buried behind all the desirable aspects of our psyche. It is our 'dark side', trained and caged by societal and cultural norms. But every once in awhile, we see it manifest itself. We see it rear its ugly head.
On Hate Speech
Richard Spencer, the identitarian responsible for coining the term Alt-Right and often miscategorized as a Nazi, is not stupid. He is actually anything but. His writing and speeches lay out an intellectual, yet superficial and flawed case for his worldview that has pulled the wool over the eyes of many able-bodied young males, as evidenced by Charlottesville. He does not condone violence, but rather, wants to achieve his objectives through open discourse. Punching him in the face only makes him look more reasonable. It only lends support to the idea that he cannot be challenged intellectually, thus building his following. As much as people want to conflate their Antifa water balloon street brawl with the allies storming Normandy, it just isn't accurate.
Heroes and the Power of Mythos
A conversation with Adam Magness on three vastly different mythological heroes and their virtues: Achilles, the proud warrior. Odysseus, the pragmatic trickster. And Aeneas, the principled leader. These three heroes guided the course of empires. Listen below: or If you liked what you heard, please comment below and let us know what … Continue reading Heroes and the Power of Mythos