I write about stuff that interests me

We experience reality from two perspectives. If I point to a dog and ask what that is, everyone will say that it’s a dog. But, the sight of the dog isn’t the only component of the experience. Two people looking at the same dog might have different emotional reactions to it. Maybe one of them loves dogs and might feel happy by the sight. The other person had got bitten by a dog, so they look at it with fear. In short, we constantly interpret the objective reality – according to our experience, wants and desires – that we experience, making it subjective. Meursault, the protagonist of “The Stranger” written by Albert Camus, doesn’t seem to experience reality subjectively. He perceives reality just as it is, without any interpretations. That’s why I think everything feels meaningless to him. The opening of the novel reads “Mother died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I don't know.” Meursault isn’t affected much by the death of his mother, noting that nothing in his life had changed a...

I’m running. Every time I step on the ground, a jolt of pain from my knee spreads itself to my thigh. If I don’t stop immediately, it feels like an internal organ inside my lower ribs is going to burst. The cool wind gently brushing on my body is the only delight, so I focus on that. The pain is still there. I look ahead at the trees slow dancing with the wind. “It’s impossible to go ahead without a rest”, emerges an inner voice, but I ignore that and keep going. After a while, something strange happens. I no longer feel pain, but just feel incredibly grateful to be alive. A sense of bliss washes over my body. I feel energized, so I run faster. My brain was lying to me. Had I listened to it, I wouldn’t have felt the runner’s high. The storm before the calm isn’t limited to running. Whenever we have to take action, our first instinct is to put it off. An inner voice convinces us that it’s going to be boring, that it can be done any other time but now. If we don’t succumb to this voice...