Friday, 29 November 2019

Words and Wondering.

Arthur Schopenhauer famously said:

To live alone is the fate of all great souls.

This is a generalisation, of course, as the vast majority of popular sound bites from the great and the good are. I like it, nonetheless, for obvious reasons (for those who don’t know, I’ve lived alone for the last fifteen years.) And what’s interesting is that shortly before I came across that pearl of generalised wisdom, I’d had the oddest feeling that there is something of substantial significance – maybe even grand – somewhere up ahead in my destiny. I’ve never had such a feeling in my life before and I have very little doubt that it derived from a fevered imagination. But you never know. Come to think of it, I’m glad I don’t know because knowing that there is something of substantial significance – and maybe even grand – in my destiny would scare the living daylights out of me. Look what happened to Joan of Arc.

Schopenhauer also said:

Life swings like a pendulum backwards and forwards between pain and boredom.

I disagree with that one, even though it’s generally true of me these days.

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I watched a bird perching quietly on the branch of a tree today. Eventually it flew to a neighbouring tree and perched quietly on another branch. I wondered why.

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