“There always comes a time when one must choose between contemplation and action. This is called becoming a man. Such wrenches are dreadful. But for a proud heart there can be no compromise. There is God or time, that cross or this sword. This world has a higher meaning that transcends its worries, or nothing is true but those worries. One must live with time and die with it, or else elude it for a greater life. I know that one can compromise and live in the world while believing in the eternal. That is called accepting. But I loathe this term and want all or nothing. If I choose action, don’t think that contemplation is like an unknown country to me. But it cannot give me everything, and, deprived of the eternal, I want to ally myself with time. I do not want to put down to my account either nostalgia or bitterness, and I merely want to see clearly.”
—Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus (via zhaozhou)
July 2012
41 posts
“What, then, is that incalculable feeling that deprives the mind of the sleep necessary to life? A world that can be explained even with bad reasons is a familiar world. But, on the other hand, in a universe suddenly divested of illusions and lights, man feels an alien, a stranger. His exile is without remedy since he is deprived of the memory of a lost home or the hope of a promised land. This divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, is properly the feeling of absurdity.”
—Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
“Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.”
—Henry Rollins (via quotes-shape-us)
“The sense of unhappiness is so much easier to convey than that of happiness. In misery we seem aware of our own existence, even though it may be in the form of a monstrous egotism: this pain of mine is individual, this nerve that winces belongs to me and to no other. But happiness annihilates us: we lose our identity.”
—The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (via thechocolatebrigade)
You have weirdly good taste in music, not to mention your taste in philosophers, literary excerpts, etc.
Appreciate it.
I just wanted to say how much I value the existence of this blog. You do a fantastic job here.
Thank you kindly.
Could you please post the tracklist of your compilation for the non Spotify users? I'd really love to see what you have selected.
I’ll post a screenshot for non-spotify users.
Spotify sucks and doesn't work in Canada. Put the mix up on 8tracks or in a zip file on Mediafire or something!
I don’t have an account on either of those website. My apologies to Canadians and people who aren’t fond of spotify.
You should make a mix tape of songs that deals with the existential.
I have already: spotless mind
just to say you've an amazing blog
Thank you.
so i read "God's Debris" by Scott Adams, it was(mostly) an easy read but i'd never find this blog without it. Your literature recommendation are highly appreciated, sir. good luck on your search for the ultimate meaning. pardon my language, i speak alienese mostly
Thank you. I, however, would like to be addressed as ‘madam’ instead.
“Because your existence in time and space is unique, there are lives that only you can touch.”
—Harry Palmer (via julie911)
“I decided that my existence would be one of books and silence.”
—Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Angel’s Game
“I acknowledge the privilege of being alive in a human body at this moment, endowed with senses, memories, emotions, thoughts, and the space of mind in its wisdom aspect.”
—Alex Grey (via unknowneditors)
“One sticks one’s finger into the soil to tell by the smell in what land one is: I stick my finger in existence — it smells of nothing. Where am I? Who am I? Why am I here? What is this thing called the world? What does this world mean? Who is it that has lured me into the world? Why was I not consulted, why not made acquainted with its manners and customs instead of throwing me into the ranks, as if I had been bought by a kidnapper, a dealer in souls? How did I obtain an interest in this big enterprise they call reality? Why should I have an interest in it? Is it not a voluntary concern? And if I am to be compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I should like to make a remark to him. Is there no director? Whither shall I turn with my complaint?”
—Kierkegaard (via talkwiththedead)
“God is the solitude of men. There was only me: I alone decided to commit Evil; alone, I invented Good. I am the one who cheated, I am the one who performed miracles, I am the one accusing myself today, I alone can absolve myself; me, the man.”
—Jean-Paul Sartre, The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)
“Life shrinks or expands according to one’s courage.”
—Anaïs Nin (via imfantasyparade)
