Pleasure seeking

The pursuit of pleasure, whether it’s a needle in the arm or a trip to St. Barts, always takes place against a background of pain. True happiness can only be found inside the self.

Free

A last breath is released, and life escapes the body. Our word for this spell-breaker is death, but it and every other word seem cramped and churlish in the moment of our emancipation.

And the winner is…

There’s something more important than the work we do, and that is what we do when we’re not working. From holy days to holidays to the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship with its 24-hour buffets. It’s food and sex versus fear and death.

Hope less

Hope is not an antidote to fear but rather an aspect of fear. Hope and fear are two ends of the same pencil.

“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”