A Socratic Manifesto
Seneca was in the habit in his letters of sharing the lessons from his daily reading with Lucilius. I thought I might do the same and share with you a lesson I learned today from my reading, whoever you are. I’ve been reading . . .
On Spending Time
Dear Lena,
You mentioned that you’re frustrated, even horrified, with yourself for the amount of time you spend lounging around in bed when you wake up and how much time you suspect yourself of wasting generally. I find your frustration both ill and well formed, based on how well I know you, and would caution that you have a little more patience with yourself. . . .
Scatter My Bones across the Earth
I’ve been thinking about death a lot lately. The thought, or really the worry, manifests somatically for me as pain in my chest and arms. I think what terrifies me the most about death is what I expect to be the complete absence of my consciousness, the complete absence of my bearing witness to this world. It’s like all at once and suddenly, I’ve finally become aware of my mortality: I am finite; I will die; I will soon only be so many bones scattered across the earth . . .