Sublime

contemporary life presents us with so many possibilities of fulfillment that no one could pursue them all with enough consistency and commitment to achieve the value that all these sources have to offer.

Thomas Merton

Reason, as Locke uses the term, consists of two parts: first, an inquiry as to what things we know with certainty; second, an investigation of propositions which it is wise to accept in practice, although they have only probability and not certainty in their favour. “The grounds of probability,” he says, “are two: conformity with our own experience

Thus it is no surprise that philosophers across history are preoccupied with two interrelated concerns: rigorous thought and virtuous living. Deep contemplation about the true, the good and the beautiful cannot be separated from living it out.

I don’t agree with Aristotle. When the demands of life are pressing, too urgent to be ignored, it would be a mistake to devote all day to contemplation, reading Wordsworth, or playing golf. Being mortal, think of mortal things.

Think of the days on which you have nothing to look forward to but sleep: a respite from childcare, putting out fires at work, fighting to keep your relationships alive. Don’t get me wrong, these things all matter. Their value may be final; but it is essentially ameliorative. Caught on the treadmill of what has to be done, day by day, you may not h

I’m less focused on the contemporaneous and more focused on finding things that are true but that most people don’t know.

It is quite possible to find great purpose in the ordinary tasks of life, apart from knowing answers to the Big Questions About Existence.