The Introverted Thinker Newsletter #019
A secret epidemic of the soul, why ideas are the modern currency, and wisdom from Confucius
Hello again!
This week I had nothing published on Medium due to a slower response time from publications, so I give you a special extract out of one of the many pieces sitting in my drafts.
This newsletter sort of has a theme of hidden wisdom. I go over things that people may not know about in the current state of humanity, yet these certain things are very much present in our day-to-day lives.
So here’s to looking beneath the surface and thinking outside the box,
enjoy.
Most Men Lead Lives of Quiet Desperation
A tragic trap that has manifested itself into a modern epidemic.
A rich and powerful man scatters thousands of seeds in his plot of land. Some of the seeds never end up growing, merely rotting away into the endless earth.
Some of the seeds end up thriving, becoming fully independent, and growing into large and established oak trees, with their roots claiming the earth for miles around them. These seeds had favorable conditions, perhaps they reached more sunlight or water.
However, the vast majority of the seeds soughed by the rich man ended up as measly little trees, having to depend on the irrigation system to sustain their pointless existence.
The trees belonging to the majority are miserable, desperate if you will. They don't reach the blissful heights that some of their counterparts do.
This analogy I’ve just given represents the structure of the modern world. We’re all humans, with the same capabilities. Yet most of us endure a meaningless existence, accepting the mediocrity of our life without question.
Those in power (the farmer with the seeds) control you. But then there's the select few who thrive and rise from the masses. This is how society is set up.
Do You Live A Life Of Quiet Desperation?
One of my all-time favorite quotes, in general, happens to come from one of my favorite philosophers — Henry David Thoreau.
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation” — Henry David Thoreau
I seek refuge in these words as a reminder of the life state I can never allow myself to fall into. But man, this quote right here, holds a heavy meaning behind it. This is because it's so accurate.
There are many many people out there who dream about the idea of running away from everything. To leave behind their whole lives and all the financial burdens just to be free. They cant wait to run away.
Misplaced values
Unfulfilling work
Emotionless voids
Attaching to material possessions
Little free time to explore things that are meaningful to you
Any of this sound familiar?
I'm sure it does because a lot of you are merely enslaved by systems that benefit those above you. The hard truth is that you are a tiny cog in a machine that never stops turning. It just chews up and swallows the cogs, spitting them out when they become of no use.
“Capitalism creates unnecessary jobs in order for the wheels to merely keep on turning.” — David Graeber
Henry David Thoreau is an inspiration for the modern man. A personal role model of mine. He recognized this enslavement early on in modern society.
and what did he do?
He broke free from it and took his own path. He rejected society, refused to pay taxes to a governmental organization he didn't believe in, and moved into the wilderness, becoming fully self-sufficient. Like his 1854 book, Walden recounts.
Like I said before, take refuge in his words. Because they are our current truth, regardless of if you feel free or not.
Forging The Path of Freedom
A YouGov poll found that only 50 percent of people in the UK believe their job makes a meaningful contribution to the world. A Shocking 37 percent are sure it doesn’t.
What significance do the word's meaning and purpose have to you? For me, they are some of the most important words in the English language, and I don't say this lightly.
“He who has a why can bear almost any how” — Friedrich Nietzsche
Another one of my all-time favorite quotes. There is a theme with my favorite quotes, they all reveal solemn and hard truths to swallow that is crucial to our feelings of happiness.
Can you begin to imagine what decades of working a useless job that you believe provides zero value can do to someone? This is literal torture. It is a life of quiet desperation.
Purpose and direction in life can get you through close to anything in life. It’s like a sense of omnipotence that sustains this hunger and drive to make it out the other side.
To read the rest of this article when it’s published, sign up to Medium to read more
Something I Listened To Last Week:
“Ideas Are the New Oil” by Naval Ravikant
This week I have no book recommendation because I chose to read quite a large book. Instead, I want to briefly discuss this 3-minute explosion of wisdom that was dropped on us by Naval, nicknamed the “Angel” philosopher - He is a venture capitalist, and a tech entrepreneur.
In this 3 minute podcast Naval discusses the changes that humanity has undergone in recent centuries. From our time as explorers in the 15th century, sailing the world in search of spices and valuable resources to trade, to our transition into less “war-like” people.
We no longer experience more mass-scale conquests from empires looking to claim natural resources. Instead Naval says this.
“The wealthiest places in the world now are the ones who have the best ideas…The new oil is ideas, its all digital. All the new fortunes are being started in the idea space”
And this is entirely true. The sectors which require more thought and innovative ideas are the ones quickly taking over. No one studies how to coal mine anymore, people are creating their own corners on the internet to express themselves and their ideas.
This was some interesting food for thought for sure. Give it a listen.
Some Simple Ancient Chinese Wisdom To End Things Off
A few days ago, I was writing an article on Ancient Chinese philosophy. And as I was scrolling through quotes and researching certain popular Eastern thinkers like Confucius. I noticed something.
If you don’t know who Confucius is, here’s how National Geographic summarises him:
“Confucius was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and teacher whose message of knowledge, benevolence, loyalty, and virtue were the main guiding philosophy of China for thousands of years.”
Here’s what I noticed. Confucian wisdom and most of the philosophy from Ancient China had one thing in common. It was all so simple that certain people from the West would struggle to even call such insights ‘philosophy’. For example, two Confucian quotes I wrote about went as follows:
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complex.” — Confucius
“If you hate a person you are defeated by them” — Confucius
In the West, we are used to philosophers like Camus, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Kant, trying to answer life’s most complex questions.
But the philosophers of Ancient China didn’t. They answered the questions that applied to the practicalities of daily life. And I love this. Philosophy doesn’t have to be a rabbit hole of perplexing delusions and paradoxes.
Sometimes the most simple things are the most beautiful.
Thanks for reading everyone!
I would love to discuss some ideas that I wrote about in this newsletter with some of you! Feel free to reach out by commenting and hitting reply to this email. This is a community after all. :)
See you next week!
Julian.