Vertical Thinking

There is a terrible temptation (I know I’ve fallen into many times) to value yourself by your productivity. The meritocracy culture says monetary accumulation is the gateway to everything we desire: respect, independence, even happiness. Hearing rhetoric like: “with the internet, not being a millionaire is a choice” for people like me who’ve accomplished very little according to the rules of the game, it can feel absolutely crushing. Being ordinary is shamed as not hustling hard enough.

Almost 2400 years ago, one of the greatest revolutions the western world has ever known set off. It was a relatively quiet explosion, not a famous battle or the overthrow of an empire. It was a young man watching his hero, teacher, and mentor put on trial and condemned to death. His teacher had dedicated his life to questioning others, for, as he put it, “the unexamined life is not worth living.