by Emil Nolde This past week I realized that I’m spectacularly unreassuring in my personal life. As in, whenever someone tells me they’re worried about something, I’m usually like, “Eh, it’ll probably be fine.” When I say that, S pointed out, I usually mean,
I send my partner your posts because it helps him understand me and also helps me understand myself. I find that quite insane. Thanks Ava, for being so articulate.
“There are many people who would rather turn to cults and fanaticism than exist untethered with no one to tell them what to do, no promise of redemption and safety.”
This made me wonder about people who turn to mysticism instead of fanaticism.
Focusing on personal religious experience or on finding hidden knowledge would be a way of finding certainty and meaning. That deeper religious experience can only have personal meaning, no one can give you a lick of reassurance or support on whether or not it will happen.
A hermit can’t plan on encountering religious ecstasy, but I think the quality of a significant personal experience could set someone on a path of self certain purpose.
Most if not all of your posts resonate strongly with me or my views of the world, but you portray them more eloquently than I could. I like reading you
This one reminded me a bit of the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by M Kundera, specially the last paragraphs.
Hi Ava, I love your post. As a person who is quite organized, I cling on to certainty as the guidance and the peace of my life. I pre-crastinate and I plan ahead only to block out the uncertainties that I'm deeply anxious about.
When I found your substack, I immediately found the opposite of myself and was attracted to every single post you wrote. I believe it's because subconsciously I want to start embracing the uncertainty in this life and strike a balance between living a "top-down" narrative and a more "free" one.
Dear Ava, I am going through a period of transition in my life at the moment and there’s a ton of uncertainty. Although there is also anxiety, there’s a also a sense that “I really don’t know what is best”, and some openness to letting myself be swept along and not forcing too much. Thank you for this piece, I especially liked the point about the desire to know that you’re being Optimal, and I can relate. Anyway, for me this came at the right time :)
I send my partner your posts because it helps him understand me and also helps me understand myself. I find that quite insane. Thanks Ava, for being so articulate.
“There are many people who would rather turn to cults and fanaticism than exist untethered with no one to tell them what to do, no promise of redemption and safety.”
This made me wonder about people who turn to mysticism instead of fanaticism.
Focusing on personal religious experience or on finding hidden knowledge would be a way of finding certainty and meaning. That deeper religious experience can only have personal meaning, no one can give you a lick of reassurance or support on whether or not it will happen.
A hermit can’t plan on encountering religious ecstasy, but I think the quality of a significant personal experience could set someone on a path of self certain purpose.
Most if not all of your posts resonate strongly with me or my views of the world, but you portray them more eloquently than I could. I like reading you
This one reminded me a bit of the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by M Kundera, specially the last paragraphs.
Hi Ava, I love your post. As a person who is quite organized, I cling on to certainty as the guidance and the peace of my life. I pre-crastinate and I plan ahead only to block out the uncertainties that I'm deeply anxious about.
When I found your substack, I immediately found the opposite of myself and was attracted to every single post you wrote. I believe it's because subconsciously I want to start embracing the uncertainty in this life and strike a balance between living a "top-down" narrative and a more "free" one.
I read your posts slowly, one paragraph at a time. Each is a treasure. I am 69 years old and leaning into the not-knowing, non-narrative way of being that you describe. You are one step away from this: https://selfdefinition.org/zen/hsin-hsin-ming/faith-in-mind-richard-clark-translation.htm
And you ended on a fine line: it’s easier to lose the plot when you realize that you never had it at all.
Dear Ava, I am going through a period of transition in my life at the moment and there’s a ton of uncertainty. Although there is also anxiety, there’s a also a sense that “I really don’t know what is best”, and some openness to letting myself be swept along and not forcing too much. Thank you for this piece, I especially liked the point about the desire to know that you’re being Optimal, and I can relate. Anyway, for me this came at the right time :)