some days my brain feels like a crowded room—half-finished thoughts balancing on top of each other, a to-do list pretending to be a personality, the small ache of something i can’t name and i catch myself doing the thing i only learned recently to call care: i slow down and ask one clean question.
Reading this felt so close to what Pierre Hadot wrote in *Philosophy as Education for Adults*: that philosophy isn’t a system of doctrines but a way of living, a kind of daily spiritual exercise. I really resonated with your image of philosophy stepping down from the podium and just sitting at the kitchen table with you, messy and honest.
The small questions you describe —“why did that message bother me?”— carry more care than any big revelation. It’s not about collecting insights but about showing up for your own mind with attention. That quiet, faithful maintenance you describe feels like exactly what Hadot meant: philosophy as a practice of inhabiting life from the inside, not performing wisdom from the outside. Beautifully put.
I love this so much, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and practices with us. I'm going to adopt the practice of thinking/doing...'what would make this hour kinder' as often as I can 🙂
"i can still long for a version of my life that hasn’t happened yet and choose to be gentle with the one i’m actually living." wow this is truly one of the best pieces I've read on here
I loved this sentence: “and suddenly the morning feels different, not because i became wise, but because i’m here again. present, like a person wearing their own name correctly. philosophy, in this shape, is not a lecture; it’s a reminder to come back to your life before it gets lived without you.” So many of us can relate to this, it speaks to the importance of being present in one’s own life and living in the version of who they are in the present moment before life slips away. Thank you for writing those words!
I don't know if philosophy is an intellectual self-care ritual but I can say, reading it has been changing the way I deal with stuff in my life. It's entirely different from the productivity and personal growth garbage we are fed these days. Sometimes philosophy is hard, brutal, and raw. Sometimes it's like a bosom friend who understands exactly what I'm going through and provide the apt solutions to get out of it. It demolishes the unhealthy notions about myself that I have been carrying around for all these years. Philosophy is not something you can add to your resume to show off. You must live it. Ask yourself critical questions head on so that your real intentions and desires don't get the chance to hide away and manipulate you. Philosophy is self-awareness and the only way to know 'who you are in reality'. You are absolutely on point here-"It's not glamorous. But ingenuously faithful"
The best way to learn philosophy is to live and experience it, even for a moment, in the busy flow of daily life. When we talk to ourselves, listen to our inner cries, and confront the questions we have ignored for so long, we realize they have grown into monsters.
Reading this felt so close to what Pierre Hadot wrote in *Philosophy as Education for Adults*: that philosophy isn’t a system of doctrines but a way of living, a kind of daily spiritual exercise. I really resonated with your image of philosophy stepping down from the podium and just sitting at the kitchen table with you, messy and honest.
The small questions you describe —“why did that message bother me?”— carry more care than any big revelation. It’s not about collecting insights but about showing up for your own mind with attention. That quiet, faithful maintenance you describe feels like exactly what Hadot meant: philosophy as a practice of inhabiting life from the inside, not performing wisdom from the outside. Beautifully put.
Thank you!!
I love this so much, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and practices with us. I'm going to adopt the practice of thinking/doing...'what would make this hour kinder' as often as I can 🙂
I love your metaphors. “My certainty was just adrenaline in a dress…” stunning. Gorgeous essay
"i can still long for a version of my life that hasn’t happened yet and choose to be gentle with the one i’m actually living." wow this is truly one of the best pieces I've read on here
I loved this sentence: “and suddenly the morning feels different, not because i became wise, but because i’m here again. present, like a person wearing their own name correctly. philosophy, in this shape, is not a lecture; it’s a reminder to come back to your life before it gets lived without you.” So many of us can relate to this, it speaks to the importance of being present in one’s own life and living in the version of who they are in the present moment before life slips away. Thank you for writing those words!
loved this, so much. My mind feels lighter reading this - but heavier at the same time.
I’m not a writer. You articulate so beautifully the things that are bubbling just under the surface for me that I haven’t been able to put words to.
I enjoyed your post. "Treating your mind like a place you..." really got to me...
This felt like POETRY. Such a beautifully articulated piece 😍
This feels like a warm hug i didn't know i needed<3
I don't know if philosophy is an intellectual self-care ritual but I can say, reading it has been changing the way I deal with stuff in my life. It's entirely different from the productivity and personal growth garbage we are fed these days. Sometimes philosophy is hard, brutal, and raw. Sometimes it's like a bosom friend who understands exactly what I'm going through and provide the apt solutions to get out of it. It demolishes the unhealthy notions about myself that I have been carrying around for all these years. Philosophy is not something you can add to your resume to show off. You must live it. Ask yourself critical questions head on so that your real intentions and desires don't get the chance to hide away and manipulate you. Philosophy is self-awareness and the only way to know 'who you are in reality'. You are absolutely on point here-"It's not glamorous. But ingenuously faithful"
The best way to learn philosophy is to live and experience it, even for a moment, in the busy flow of daily life. When we talk to ourselves, listen to our inner cries, and confront the questions we have ignored for so long, we realize they have grown into monsters.
❤️
You got problems? Think about what your onion felt.
Lovely read!! This is exactly how my mind operates, needing that reminder
I enjoyed the read and the space/all you highlighted/created so eloquently. Thank you.
This is the hug my brain needed this morning. Beautifully written 🫶