CAUTION: Spoilers ahead. Stranger Things used to be an entertaining novelty. At first capturing the essence of The Goonies with a more compelling villain, they understandably attempted to jump on the misfit antihero bandwagon but landed on a formulaic plot and superficial characters. With millions of people watching, the writers…

At any given time, I am aware that I could be working harder. I am aware (or at least believe) that someone somewhere is putting in more effort than me, for longer than me, and with more passion than me. …

May the shifting truths of your life nevertheless be an atlas of meaning. Shifting truths seem to define life as life rarely turns out how we anticipate — “the best laid plans…” and all of that — yet we experience a consistent narrative. Upon looking back from any point in…

Perhaps Homo vehementi — “violent man” — is too cynical, but in reflecting on the nature of humanity based on our behavior, it seems apt. It is so consistent as to be categorical because violence in certain understandings is intrinsic to consciousness, identity, and self-awareness (cf. …

Growing up Protestant, I felt an odd sort of pride in the idea of the Protestant work ethic. Weber’s socio-theological observation is an interesting one: Protestants identify success achieved through hard work and thrift as a sign that one is saved. It is a fulfillment of the calling God has…

I’ve been contemplating gratitude for sadness. I don’t mean a cliché “shadow proves the sunshine” sort of gratitude, since the heat of the sun has convinced me without any need for shadows. And while sometimes sadness comes at the loss of something good, reminding us not to take for granted…

Birth is suffering. A Noble Truth in Buddhism, this suffering extends throughout life. So really I should have said life, as a whole, is suffering. Too often we get caught in the oscillation between avoiding things we’d prefer not to do and seeking pleasure, consequently fixating on the pains and…

Identity is a commonplace complexity. In our everyday lives, we are pressured to identify with political parties, professions, and products. Republican or democrat? Artist? Accountant? Engineer? Apple or PC? There are innumerable factors with which we can (and do, whether or not we want to) align ourselves in order to…

We have a sense of agency in life, a perception of the ability to influence our own actions. While there are determining conditions for the decisions we make at any given point, we can perhaps preempt certain determinants and influence which choices are presented down the road. …