Brain Food #648
How much we let in
Thoughts of the day
The definition of a rich life can vary. Richness can mean having a large number of assets in one’s possession, but it can also imply an abundance of something which is not necessarily measurable.
Richness can come from saving. Spending less than what you make, and always putting something aside for a rainy day, a future purchase, a descendant.
Richness can also come from multiplication. When you take what you can put aside, and invest it in some form so that it can yield future returns.
But lately, the more time I spend thinking about it, the more obvious it becomes that a rich life is reflected in the number of people you have in it, the ones that you feel you can truly count on, the ones you have built memories with.
Aristotle wrote that a friend is “A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” If that is the case, a rich life is one in which we let our souls divide themselves into multiple bodies. And through this, our existence multiplies, not by how much we leave out, but how much we let in.
Still life with Three Sailors by John Craxton depicts three sailors enjoying a rich, though not necessarily expensive, meal in post-war Greece.
Thank you for reading Brain Food. If you'd like to read more, you can subscribe for free:
As always, for any thoughts, comments, wishes, or other expressions of emotions, just hit reply.