Family, nation, religion, politics, sports. We belong to groups. Groups change us.
Author: Marin Mikulic
All of Those Days That Came and Went
“All of those days that came and went — I didn’t realize those were life.” I’d read the above line in Erling Kagge’s Silence: In the Age of Noise and closed it afterward. It was a dark thought, dripping in nostalgia and regret. It reminded me of the one Kazuo Ishiguro wrote in his masterpiece The Remains […]
China is Behind the Coronavirus
There have recently been claims that China had developed the Coronavirus on purpose, to use as a weapon. Is it possible this is true?
The Map of Your Life
You’re on unfamiliar territory. In the pocket of your jacket there’s a map and a compass. Moody forest surrounds you like a sinister army. There’s no clear direction, no obvious path to take. You’re left to your own devices and no one’s there to help. Nervous, you take stock of your belongings.
Why I Write
Imagine you’re in a desert and there’s an enormous green wall in front of you. You look up and to each of the sides. All you see is the green wall.
Start Small, Start now
There’s a joke that goes something like this: “Stopping smoking is easy. I’ve done it a hundred times.“ At first, people react with confusion, then they laugh. I love the joke because it applies to anything. Like my writing.
Self-discipline: 6 questions and 1 imperative
I often think about self-discipline. How to achieve it, hone it, and prevent it from degenerating into an iron rigidness. How to reap its benefits. I invest so much time thinking about how to have more of it that I rarely, if ever, asked myself why do I want more self-discipline. Why do I want […]
Coronavirus: Choose The Third Route
Coronavirus and COVID-19 erupted in China. Then it spread across the world as a downside of globalization. Shit happens. Now what? First, let’s define what we’re talking about. Abstract and alarming concepts like the coronavirus are easier to handle when clearly defined. Put your fears on a piece of paper. They’re smaller than what your […]
Distracted? Silence is the Antidote
In a world of busyness, noise, panic, distraction and information overload, silence is an endangered species. Her only hope is you.
How To Be a Good Man
How to be a good man or a good woman? Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor, had the right idea.
Addicted to Netflix
What kind of a role does Netflix play in your life? Infinite-content products are hard to control. Oftentimes, they end up controlling you.
The Tyranny of Freedom
Freedom is a powerful word. Not only does it embody the human striving to dissolve chains, but it also contains a past tense. The tense realization that if we are now free, it is only because we have once been enslaved. Freedom is an idea to mourn if lost, cherish if had, and hoped for in the vague tomorrow.
When You Cannot Decide
How can you stop the dwelling on things when you cannot decide and finally move on…without going crazy?
Buy More Stuff: The Unconscious Hunger
How much of the stuff you own do you use on a daily basis? Monthly? How much more of it doesn’t see the light of day in an entire year? How much of it, hand-on-the-Holy-Book-of-your-choosing, do you honestly care about?
The Roots of Your Unhappiness
Why then aren’t we any happier than before? We are affluent, and yet we crave more. We are longer-lived, but the idea of death is paralyzing. We are more educated, but lack meaning. We are more connected than ever, but fail to understand one another more than ever.
The Poor Boy and the Frogs: A Lesson in Decision Making
It’s easy to make a decision, but the right one? That is hard, as hard as it gets.
The Impostor Syndrome at Work
Have you ever felt you’re just about to be exposed and sent home? I have. I wrote this for all of us who’d felt the sting of the impostor syndrome.
The Loneliness of the Modern (Wo)man
We struggle to connect. There’s no loneliness like the loneliness of a big city. You are an individual among millions of people.
Leave and Have No Regrets
On cartoons, ships, and leaving people. One of the most read and the most popular essays I’ve written.
It Is Not Enough to Know the Name of Something
It is not enough to know the name of something. To know, to truly understand something means to be bravely curious. The fact that you know the bird’s name is ‘halzenfugel’ means nothing.
Too Much Freedom?
This is a thought eperiement, a book review, a lament and a hopeful conversation – all rolled into one. Is it possible that we have…too much freedom?
Labels: You Do Not Belong to Your Group
Do you know the history of your labels? Do you know why you belong to the group you belong to? Have you made a conscious decision or has it been handed down to you?
The Reason You Feel You’re Running Out of Time
If someone is bragging about how busy and how short on time they are, you can be sure they’re clueless. There’s enough time. You’re not running out of time.