Honeysuckle Walks
a literature & philosophy blog
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The tortured poet
The trope of the “tortured poet” is intriguing—it conveys the idea that meaningful art requires or is enhanced by anguish, torment…
Mary Oliver’s White Flowers and the undiscovered country
I read a poem by Mary Oliver that stuck with me. It’s called “White Flowers” and it’s about the boundaries between wakefulness…
Sin, sirens, and the irresistible allure of sound
“Square in your ship’s path are Sirens, crying beauty to bewitch men coasting by; woe to the innocent who hears that sound!”
Eden, omniscience, and John Keats’ mansion of life
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who thought a lot about knowledge and uncertainty. In May 1818, Keats wrote a letter…
John Keats’ negative capability
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who’s best known for his odes, like “Ode to a Nightingale.” Despite a short life…
Marcus Aurelius on gratitude
Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor of the Pax Romana, a period of peace and stability for the Roman Empire. He was also a Stoic…
Albert Einstein on a higher power
“The individual feels the futility of human desires and aims and the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves both…”
Aristotle and Seneca on friendship and isolation
Friendship was an important topic to Greek philosophers. Aristotle devoted 1/5th of his main work on ethics, Nicomachean Ethics…
How to find your life’s calling (part 2)
The process of uncovering your life’s meaning begins with asking the right questions and then turning inwards…
How to find your life’s calling
At one point or another, most people wonder what their life’s purpose is (or if there’s a larger purpose at all). Thankfully, we…
How to recover your creativity: Insights from The Artist’s Way
Creativity is an energy. It’s intangible, and like any form of energy, it can’t be created or destroyed but displaced or converted…
Le Petit Prince and the weight of friendship
“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” - Antione de Saint-Exupéry
Rising from the ashes of chaos
Life isn’t very fun when it’s too chaotic. Most people dislike chaos, and for good reason. It marks uncertainty, doubt, disruption…
Finding meaning in the face of death
Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning explores how humans are driven to find purpose in life. He identifies three potential…
Language, ineffability, and Coldplay’s Politik
“All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.” – Walter Pater
The happiness machine and accepting life as it is
In 1957, Ray Bradbury published a captivating short story called “The Happiness Machine,” which takes us back to a time of…
Trading uncertainty for the life of your dreams
"Don’t sleepwalk through life.” – Derren Brown
How to prevent burnout in your corporate job
Whether you’ve experienced the grind of a corporate job or any job that leaves you feeling drained, unfulfilled, or powerless…
Why you should quit your job to pursue your passion
Cal Newport’s book So Good They Can’t Ignore You is about how people fall prey to a “Passion Hypothesis”…
3 reasons why time passes so quickly and how to slow it down
Lately, it feels like time is moving even faster than usual. The days fly by and soon enough we’re in another month…
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860) was an influential German philosopher who, despite providing the foundation for much of modern philosophy, died in relative obscurity.