The Wisdom Letter #264
5 quotes from Mary Oliver, Simone de Beauvoir, and more.
✹ For today’s edition of Wisdom Letter, we have carefully curated five bite-sized quotes from brilliant thinkers such as Mary Oliver and Simone de Beauvoir, each paired with a philosophical question designed to provoke deep reflection.
Quote № 01:
“Listen. Are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?”
— Mary Oliver (1935–2019)
~ Follow-up Question:
To what extent can a human existence characterized by mere survival or routine functionality be considered a meaningful or authentic life, and how does our cultural or societal conditioning influence our threshold for what qualifies as truly living?
Quote № 02:
“I was made for another planet altogether. I mistook the way.”
— Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986)
~ Follow-up Question:
How does the experience of existential displacement—feeling fundamentally out of place in the world—inform our understanding of personal identity, and can such alienation be a legitimate foundation for self-realization or transformation?
Quote № 03:
“We must have one love, one great love in our life, since it gives us an alibi for all the moments when we are filled with despair.”
— Albert Camus (1913–1960)
~ Follow-up Question:
How does the concept of anchoring one's emotional life to a singular love reflect the human desire to impose coherence on an otherwise fragmented existence, and does this pursuit risk reducing the richness of life to a single axis of meaning?
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Quote № 04:
“If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life.”
— Charles Bukowski (1920–1994)
~ Follow-up Question:
How does the imperative to pursue a passion that consumes us challenge traditional ethical frameworks centered on balance, moderation, or self-preservation, and what does this reveal about the philosophical value of intensity versus longevity in a meaningful life?
Quote № 05:
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
— James Baldwin (1924–1987)
~ Follow-up Question:
To what extent can intergenerational patterns of action, rather than explicit belief, perpetuate social norms, prejudices, or systems of power, and how does this influence the possibility of genuine societal transformation?
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Camus was on to something, although I think he was mistaken in believing that we need "one great" love.
To fight despair and remain cheerful, we simply need one love at any given moment in time. It doesn't need to be great, and it can change from time to time—as it often does. If you're feeling down and want to brighten your mood, find something to be enthusiastic about. Something to look forward to.
Q1: "To what extent can a human existence characterized by mere survival or routine functionality be considered a meaningful or authentic life, and how does our cultural or societal conditioning influence our threshold for what qualifies as truly living?"
'Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.' (Zen Buddhist dictum)
'It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it" (Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, 1982).