Life is short? | Here is what Seneca and Steve Jobs would reply | Art of Saudade

If I had a dollar every time I heard the phrase “Life is short”, I’d be a billionaire. How much time have we spent complaining about life being too short instead of being grateful for the time we actually have? The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca invites you to think for a minute. Is life really that short? “It is not that we have a short … Continue reading Life is short? | Here is what Seneca and Steve Jobs would reply | Art of Saudade

THE CORRUPTION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF LOVE (Happy Valentine’s Day) ♥

Love isn’t something natural, argues the psychoanalyst Eric Fromm in his book The Art of Loving. Rather, it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and overcoming narcissism. It isn’t a feeling, it is a practice. Love, therefore, is considered a rare achievement. Modern humans are alienated from each other and from nature, and the only rational answer to overcome loneliness is love. The main condition for … Continue reading THE CORRUPTION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF LOVE (Happy Valentine’s Day) ♥

The Year of The Tiger: What Richard Parker Can Teach Us About Life | Art of Saudade

February 1 marks the start of the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Traditionally, the tiger has always been the symbol of bravery, wisdom, and strength.  You all know the story of a young Indian boy named Pi, stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. In his philosophical novel Life of Pi, which was later … Continue reading The Year of The Tiger: What Richard Parker Can Teach Us About Life | Art of Saudade

Perfect Imperfection: George Orwell’s Thoughts On Searching For The Impossible

“The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty, that one does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly intercourse impossible, and that one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one’s love … Continue reading Perfect Imperfection: George Orwell’s Thoughts On Searching For The Impossible

Emily Dickinson’s Lesson On The Real Value Of Things | Art of Saudade

“Water, is taught by thirst. Land — by the Oceans passed. Transport — by throe — Peace — by its battles told — Love, by Memorial Mold — Birds, by the Snow.“ – Emily Dickinson We only learn the real value of things when we lose them. Only when we are thirsty can we truly appreciate Water. People who survive a shipwreck get to know … Continue reading Emily Dickinson’s Lesson On The Real Value Of Things | Art of Saudade

Beckett’s Art of Failure: Fail again. Fail better | Art of Saudade

You know that frustrating feeling when you try your best but you don’t succeed? When you get what you want, but not what you need? Alright, I’ll stop quoting Chris Martin. But we’ve all been through this, right? There are high chances that you’re going through it right now. Social pressure, expectations versus reality, dreams taking time to manifest… These are hard times for dreamers. … Continue reading Beckett’s Art of Failure: Fail again. Fail better | Art of Saudade

Dragons and Princesses: Rilke’s ideas of beauty and courage

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet (1929) In his Letters to a Young Poet, the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke transforms our traditional idea … Continue reading Dragons and Princesses: Rilke’s ideas of beauty and courage

T.S. Eliot and Sufism

Have you spotted any mystical elements in T.S. Eliot’s poetry?  Four Quartets, a set of four poems published in 1943, is one of Eliot’s biggest masterpieces and poetic meditations. Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. What might have been is an abstraction … Continue reading T.S. Eliot and Sufism

Rumi and Shams: a love story

Why should I seek? I am the same as He. His essence speaks through me. I have been looking for myself! In the heart of 13th-century Konya, Turkey, the meeting of two luminaries—Rumi, the celebrated Persian poet, and Shams, the enigmatic mystic from Tabriz—marked the beginning of a profound spiritual journey that continues to inspire seekers of truth and enlightenment to this day.Shams means sun … Continue reading Rumi and Shams: a love story