The Existential Question Comes Into View: The Examined Life, Again

We should not confuse oversharing with the serious examination of life. The former is a spiritual malady, whereas the latter reconnects us to the value of existence, God, family, and more.

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I am in a reflective mood. Such moods are the professional risks of philosophers and writers; reflective moods are even more likely if you also happen tend to towards introverted melancholy. Nevertheless, I do not usually write in this way. Whether by training or inclination (or both) I am not given to self-disclosure, except in the company of my closest friends and family. Indeed, outside of family and friends, I find casual oversharing exhausting if not downright intrusive.

Why do some feel so ready to burden others with their personal drama? Do we not all have enough to bear already? This especially irritating when so much modern drama is based on irrational expectations and excessive sensitivity. Do you really believe that the world revolves around you? It does not.

I am the farthest thing from an atheist, but sometimes I want to echo Camus’s statement that when you look out at the universe in wonder, it does not look back. It is not there for you. Very well, I do not really believe this; the stars are mute but their author is not. Rather the author of all things speaks through the stars. And of course, I do not think we should shut ourselves off from others; we need to live for others and with others. Nevertheless, my whole character rebels against the modern tendency to air our dirty laundry in public. My own disposition in these matters is stoic. In fact, my people — Anglo southern men — are notoriously unreflective (with a few important outliers). Southern men will share their feelings about football, government, and on rare occasions God and the dead. Anything more is just, not what we do.