New Directions

I accepted years ago that the remainder of my adult life will likely be a nexus of catastrophe. Climate change and the all its attendant calamities will likely remake (or undo) our society in ways we haven’t even imaged yet.

Things are about to get interesting. It will require all the wisdom, courage, and self-awareness we can bring to bear.

To that end, I’ve spent the previous eight years privately building a philosophical framework for navigating the troubled waters ahead. I’ve also been deprogramming the rigid, fragilizing mindsets I inherited from my upbringing in Christian fundamentalism. Tearing down and building up. Deconstruction and reformation — these seem to be co-requisite themes in my life these days.

After years of thinking and writing about these things for myself, I’m ready to finally start writing for someone else again.

I’m taking this blog in a new direction. Writing about my freelance journey was fun, but that phase of my life has ended. I’m more interested in sharing what I’m learning about practical philosophies and their implication for living meaningful, resilient lives in the Anthropocene.

Specifically, I’m interested in thinking aloud about questions like:

How can we cope with uncertainty? (1) How do you balance between influencing change and accepting that the outcome of your efforts is beyond your control? (2) What’s the best way to live in a polarized, partisan society without losing your damn mind? (3)

Searching out answers to these types of questions has brought me comfort and, I dare say, made me a bit wiser than I would be otherwise. I hope they’re helpful for you, too.

If you’re up for it, let’s take this trip together. I can’t promise where it will lead, but I can guarantee that it won’t be boring.

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(1) Heraclitus, the OG of Greek philosophers, has some interesting (if not puzzling) thoughts on this.

(2) Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, wrote at length to his (possibly fictitious?) friend about this question.

(3) Michel de Montaigne, my favorite philosopher, lived this question during the height of the French Wars of Religion. While Protestants and Catholics were doing unspeakable things to each other in the name of God, Montaigne turned his focus inward to understand himself.