The old moral philosophers called it the ‘finis ultimus’ (utmost aim) or ‘summum bonum’ (greatest good). The utmost to aim for in terms of our character, for those around us and our society. It creates such a level of unease that every endeavour is taken to appease everyone. But of course, it is an impossible […]

They forged a relationship and co-existed in a world with many elements that were alien to them. Ancient people saw the stars and thought they were holes through which the God’s watched. They saw the constellations and believed they were favoured heroes who had earned a place amongst the stars. Our knowledge and tools developed […]

In late 1902, a 19-year-old officer cadet lay reading the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, in Theresian Military Academy. To his surprise, he found out that Rilke himself used to attend military education, but did not complete it. The young cadet was himself conflicted between pursuing a career in writing or a career in the […]

The small green fields are wild, there is not one purposely planted organism in sight. There is just an abundance of tillage weeds and mighty but sweet gorse bushes, divided by crumbling stone walls. An old trough brown with rust, lays fallen to one side no longer employed. The old gate secured to its post […]

In Letter XXVIII of ‘Letters from a Stoic’, Seneca discusses the fallacy surrounding travel; what it achieves, and what it simply can’t. “A change of character, not a change of air, is what you need.” When overcome by a sense of urgency, we tend to bulldoze forward blindly. The mistakes we make in impatience are […]

When emotions take over, they tend to make us slightly pitiful around the edges. We need to develop a parent to control the toddler. Quotes from Wilde, Nietzsche & more. Get out of your own way. Once the obstruction is released there is life that will flow. And this is the truth. Life still exists […]

So, there has been a change of plan. The challenge presented to us time and time again, is to maintain balance. With quotes from Longfellow, Aurelius & more. Creativity isn’t something everyone engages with; usually because we’re afraid of doing it wrong. With quotes from Carter, Nietzsche & more. In his 1841 essay ‘Friendship’, R. […]

See the light inch through the darkness. Run, and gleefully watch over our shoulder as the clouds fade into the distance. Looking forward, a bright horizon lies in expectation of our arrival. So, we run and run and finally we land in this new place- a new time, a new feeling, a new state. The […]

One of the earliest accounts of this saying is an old Basque Proverb- ‘Haria meheenean eten ohi da’. This translates to ‘A thread usually breaks from where it is thinnest.’ In 1786, Thomas Reid wrote a similar sentiment- “In every chain of reasoning, the evidence of the last conclusion can be no greater than that […]

Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) is credited with saying that ‘a proverb is a short sentence based on long experience’. Proverbs are often centuries old, providing us with global wisdom’s that have remained relevant throughout time. “If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.” One of the earliest records of […]

“All things must change” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1878, Kéramos Life changes, develops and moves on, slotting different things into our focus. When that happens, it becomes increasingly difficult to continue giving our attention to what we did before. Very much like that stereotypical image always presented to us, we come to a fork in the […]

Gratitude is not something most of us interact with daily. Our day normally passes by uneventfully, with some unpleasant moments and some more enjoyable ones. In this time, we mostly engage with practical thoughts concerning how we are going to go about our day. We more than likely offer a number of people thanks throughout […]

Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) is quoted as saying “A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox’s or bear’s, cover the soul. Go into your own ground […]

One of these traits is to be steadfast. The hero is determined, persistent and resolute. They cannot be shaken and stand by their values, no matter what adversities they meet. To be resolute in our thoughts and opinions is a meritorious quality, but in practice we’re in danger of believing that there is value in […]