I had always had this notion that the concept of the "best life possible" -- of living the "good life" -- was real. I never quite qualified it with reasoning or investigation, and just took it as it was. Then one day, hit by inspiration, I decided to do some research on what the living... Continue Reading →
Happiness and the Value of Life
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of the bestselling book Flow, writes in his follow-up book Finding Flow that being happy alone does not mean we have a good quality of life; rather, he says that it is what we do -- not how happy we are -- that determines the quality. I do not agree --... Continue Reading →
The Eternal Lightness of Being
I recently finished Milan Kundera's book The Eternal Lightness of Being. This has been the first novel I've read in years, and I must say it doesn't disappointment. Although I'm not a fan of authors breaking the fourth wall, it was relatively infrequent and not excessive. The stories (the book revolves around a few protagonists)... Continue Reading →
Is she real?
The day started as most of my days start. It was normal in every sense: woke up at the usual time; did the usual morning routines; and I was on the train, on my way to work. While on the train, I glanced around, and caught sight of a man and a woman holding hands.... Continue Reading →
Without Direction
I feel like a powerful ship without a rudder; like I have the potential to achieve a tremendous amount, but because I'm not too sure what I want to achieve, I stay still and let the currents take me where it will. I'm going nowhere, slowly. Maybe I should pick an arbitrary shore and head... Continue Reading →
The Guru
The self-help guru walked up to me and asked, “what would you do if you could do anything, anything at all, and knew you couldn’t fail?” I looked at him, thought for a bit, and shrugged. “How can you not know?” he asked. “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” My face... Continue Reading →
The Baby
I wrote the following poem in camp, inspired after I unthinkingly remarked that a friend's "twenty minutes of fun created a lifetime of pain" when he talked about his illegitimate daughter: He asked her for a kiss On a night so very fine. He asked her to be his Over red roses and wine. They... Continue Reading →
On the Lack of Ambition
An old man demands that we live our lives with purpose.
Passing Days
I woke; I showered; I worked; I slept. I woke; I showered; I worked; I slept. I woke; I showered; I worked; I slept. I woke; I showered; I worked; I slept. I woke; I showered; I worked; I slept. I woke; I showered; I read; I watched; I cried; I called; we talked; I... Continue Reading →
The Old Man
I can still see, vividly, the old woman tending to her garden, carefully plucking out the weeds, watering her plants with the tenderness of a nursing mother. This old woman was the wife of the old man whom about a decade ago my mother called "the creepy old man," as he used to stare at... Continue Reading →
Donn, fragments 