[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fKnxJ3u_oLf6EoPcS4_iAguSlMVh53LwyX9hZhuxUzIM":3,"$fwHLAulV1-qwZoGSHdzArYCJDLUZDrU7e-dTdUJ0TGyw":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},40410,"Mark Rowlands","M",12,null,"mark-rowlands",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":84},[14,22,28,35,42,48,54,60,66,72],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3259196,"When you play each point as it comes, or play each delivery on its own merits, you are doing just that: playing. But when the value of each point or delivery becomes instrumental, what you are doing is work.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3259182,"It is consciousness that brings both suffering and enjoyment to the world.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":34},3259167,"The function of religion is to make us feel better, by peddling a lie. The function of philosophy, and a carefully chosen birthday card, is to make us feel worse, by telling the truth. And the truth is of course: we get worse.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nMark Rowlands, a philosopher and writer known for his humorous and incisive essays, likely penned this quote in one of his books or articles. At the time, Rowlands was grappling with the existential implications of mortality, which is a recurring theme in his work. This quote, in particular, reflects his skepticism towards the human tendency to seek comfort in illusions.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe hidden insight in this quote lies in its rejection of the idea that truth must be comforting or uplifting. By stating that the function of philosophy is to \"make us feel worse\" by telling the truth, Rowlands highlights the tension between intellectual honesty and emotional well-being. This paradox suggests that genuine understanding and acceptance of our circumstances may require us to confront the uncomfortable reality that we are indeed \"getting worse.\"\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, professionals and creatives can benefit from embracing a \"memento mori\" approach to their work. By acknowledging and accepting the impermanence of their own abilities and the fleeting nature of success, they can cultivate a sense of humility and urgency, driving them to produce their best work while they still can.",{"id":36,"quote_text":37,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":38,"source":39,"quote_tag":40,"commentary":41},3259147,"The key to building distance in the long run is the ability of the mind to lie to the body – and be convincing.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is from Mark Rowlands' book \"The Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons from the Wild on Love, Loss, and Life\", published in 2008. At that time, Rowlands was reflecting on his life as a philosopher who had also experienced a profound connection with nature through his relationship with a wolf he adopted during a period of personal crisis.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe key phrase here is \"the ability of the mind to lie to the body – and be convincing.\" On its surface, this appears to advocate for self-deception as a means to achieve goals. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a profound insight into the human condition: that our perception of reality is often at odds with our physical experience, and that it's precisely this disconnect that allows us to push beyond our perceived limitations.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, try cultivating a practice where you deliberately challenge your body's intuitive responses to tasks or challenges. Instead of listening to your initial instinctual reactions, give yourself permission to \"lie\" to your body by imagining alternative scenarios or outcomes that allow you to approach problems with greater confidence and resilience.",{"id":43,"quote_text":44,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":45,"source":46,"quote_tag":47,"commentary":9},3259139,"It is a common misconception – pervasive and tenacious, but a misconception nonetheless – that arses are made for sitting on. It seems, instead, they are made for running.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":49,"quote_text":50,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":51,"source":52,"quote_tag":53,"commentary":9},3259127,"What is best about our lives -the moments when we are, as we would put it, at our happiest- is both pleasant and deeply unpleasant. Happiness is not a feeling; it is a way of being. If we focus on the feelings, we will miss the point.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":55,"quote_text":56,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":57,"source":58,"quote_tag":59,"commentary":9},3259117,"What is most important when the time comes – and it always will – is to live your life with the coldness of a wolf.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":61,"quote_text":62,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":9},3259107,"In the end, it is our defiance that redeems us...",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":9},3259102,"Deception, machination and mendacity lie at the core of human intelligence, like worms coiled at the core of a apple.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":75,"has_image":18,"author":76,"source":77,"quote_tag":78,"commentary":9},695533,"The most important way of remembering someone is by being the person they made us — at least in part — and living the life they have helped shape. Sometimes they are not worth remembering. In that case, our most important existential task is to expunge them from the narrative of our lives. But when they are worth remembering, then being someone they have helped fashion and living a life they have helped forge are not only how we remember them they are how we honour them.",2,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[79],{"id":80,"tag":81},3451264,{"id":82,"tag_name":83},10935,"remembering",{"currentPage":85,"totalPages":75,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":86},1,10]