Food for Thought

"The object of universities is not to make skillful lawyers, physicians or engineers. It is to make capable and cultivated human beings." --- John Stuart Mill

Alain de Botton

Alain de Botton is one of my most favorite writers. I believe his contemporary prose to be on par with that of Shakespeare's (and I do not say that lightly).  He seamlessly weaves complex philosophical concepts and theories with soft and accessible images of art, beauty and life that most educated people can relate to. The first book of his that I read was "The Art of Travel": a beautiful, intimate ode to travel that not only affirmed everything I believe to be true about the magic of trains, planes and automobiles, but it inspired me to look even deeper into myself and nurture the travel writer within me that I had been suppressing as a result of self-doubt about my writing abilities.

I am currently reading his most recent book entitled "Religion for Atheists". Though I do not consider myself an atheist, this book is a thoughtful and informative work that analyzes various strengths of religion and how modern day secularists can and should adopt "religious" principles and concepts in order to foster a more stable, enriching, successful and happier global community.

Enraptured does not even begin to describe the way I feel while reading a work by Alain de Botton. He is the kind of writer I dream of becoming some day. I feel inspired and empowered while reading his words.

Here is but a taste of some of the topics and ideas he explores in his book that have personally impacted my thinking and have forced me to stop, think and reflect.


"Since the Enlightenment, education - from primary level to university - has been presented as the most effective answer to a range of society's gravest ills; the conduit to fashioning a civilized, prosperous and rational citizenry."


"[University] graduation speeches stereotypically identify liberal education with the acquisition of wisdom and self-knowledge....."



"Universities are in the business of turning out a majority of tightly focused professionals (lawyers, physicians, engineers) and a minority of culturally well-informed but ethically confused arts graduates aptly panicked about how they might remuneratively occupy the rest of their lives."



"We have implicitly charged our higher-educationsystem with a dual and possibly contradictory mission: to teach us how to make a living and to teach us how to live. And we have the second of these two aims recklessly vague and unattended...."



"When religious beliefs began to fracture in Europe in the early nineteenth century, anguished questions were raised about how, in the absence of a Christian framework, people would manage to find meaning, understand themselves, behave in a moral fashion, forgive their fellow humans and confront their own morality....it was proposed that cultural works might henceforth be consulted in the place of the biblical texts. Culture would replace scripture."

Wellesley College, my alma matter

* Why do I believe the things I do?
* Why do I act the way I do?
* Why do I feel the way I do?

As young humans, we absorbed all the information and material around us that we were exposed to: things our parents said, friends said, teachers said, televisions proclaimed, books illustrated...we believed in everything that we saw, heard, touched, tasted, and smelled. As we enter adulthood, we become more cynical. We learn from our own experiences and the experiences of others and make daily rational decisions based on facts and numbers and projected outcomes. Feeling something is not valued in the adult world. Gut instincts are regarded with skepticism and doubt.

I live my life intuitively. I feel things very deeply and rely a great deal on my instincts and "gut" feelings. I'm not entirely sure why I do this, some may say I was born this way, others may theorize that it is a result of the way I was raised. Either way, I have found life to be far more fulfilling when I do not over-think the facts and I just let go and trust myself.

What is the key to a meaningful and happy life? The answer is different for everyone, but the first step to figuring it out is to stop, breathe and tune into your heart / spirit / soul / mind / conscience. Regardless of what you call it, the answer to determining what can and will make you truly happy in life can only be found within yourself. You need to ask the tough questions, be honest with yourself and throw out all the garbage -- societal rules, expectations, norms, stereotypes, concepts and opinions. None of it matters. What do YOU really want?

Knowledge is Power.

Feed your mind to feed your soul. 

Question everything.

Open your mind.

Open your heart.
Trust.
Have Faith.

Educate yourself.

Never stop learning.

Only then...
can

everything 
be
illuminated.

Favorite View from the Wellesley College Student Center