themarginalian.org

Nick Cave on the Two Pillars of a Meaningful Life

If we look with curiosity at people who do not share our values, they become interesting rather than threatening. As I've grown older I've learnt that the world and the people in it are surprisingly interesting, and that the more you look and listen, the more interesting they become. Cultivating a questioning mind, of which conversation is the chief instrument, enriches our relationship with the world.

longreads.com

Why Are Fish So Gay?

It was only when I juxtaposed our stories that I saw how harshly I had judged myself, when I was just another organism trying to survive. In this light, I found it helpful to write about myself the way I would a fish, such as thinking about times when I've had to adapt, evolve, or escape, and to write about a fish the way I would write about another person, which meant treating them as an individual whose life story matters, not just as a member of a school or a swarm.

themarginalian.org

How to See More Clearly and Love More Purely: Iris Murdoch on the Angst of Not Knowing Ourselves and Each Other

It is, of course, impossible to ever fully know what it is like to be someone else — this is the cost of consciousness, singular and secretive as it is; impossible, too, to fully convey to another what it is like to be you. The dream of perfectly clear vision is indeed just a dream. But we can always see a little more clearly in order to love a little more purely.

whyisthisinteresting

The Monday Media Diet with Hannah Park

Fiction to expand one's creativity and empathy. To experience emotions and other perspectives that would otherwise be unknown.