My wife once told me a story from A Tale of Two Cities. It took place in a small village outside of Paris in the late 18th century. The French Revolution had not yet begun, and the townspeople were living under oppressive poverty. One day a large cask of wine was being unloaded from a …
Category Archives: life
Aristotle’s Guide to Weight Loss
Last week I posted some thoughts regarding virtue ethics. The previous week I wrote disparagingly about Clean Eating. Since then, a lot of people have asked me about the connection between diet and virtue. OK, Tom Hanks is right. No one has asked me that. But still, it’s a question I’d like to engage. …
Is Spontaneity a Virtue?
Imagine a young woman being pursued by two suitors. The first is staid and predictable. He’s consistent, punctual, and perhaps a bit boring. The second is spontaneous. He tends towards the unexpected and adventurous. Our young woman considers a life with each of these men. She imagines that the first is a safe choice. He …
Clean Eating
Seven years ago, 3 teenage boys took a joyride in a small aluminum boat they’d stolen from an uncle. The boys lived on the Tokelau Islands, a small remote pacific atoll governed by New Zealand. The boys were familiar with the ocean and its dangers, but that familiarity couldn’t restrain their youthful desire for adventure. …
Flash Review: Into the Wild
I first read Into the Wild as a teenager. I was working at a Christian bookstore at the time, selling copies of Left Behind and The Prayer of Jabez in a shopping center off the highway. On breaks I would walk across parking lots and past chain restaurants to the Barnes & Noble to read John Krakauer’s account of …
What Happened to Lewis and Chesterton?
In his autobiography, G.K. Chesterton, the great 19th century British author, describes a formative early experience. “The very first thing I can ever remember seeing with my own eyes was a young man walking across a bridge. He had a curly moustache and an attitude of confidence verging on swagger.” The man, we’re told, was …
How to Fake Your Death
I get it. You want to live out your days in anonymity on a remote beach. You’re picturing a life without burdens, debts, or responsibilities. But first things first. You need a plan. It’s not as easy to disappear as it used to be. Surveillance cameras are mounted on every corner and tucked into every pocket. …
Death Is My Life Coach
A reader of this blog (oh, you read that right) recently asked me an unfair question. He requested a reading list on the good life. What can we read and consider that will make us more capable of facing down the next 50 or so years? His question was unfair because, really, that is the …