You can't have something without nothing.

First things first, an introduction: I’m Brian, a 31-year-old native Arizonan. I’m not sure if it’s heat damage or if I was dropped on my head one too many times, but I’ve always had an obsession with life, death and everything in between. I’ll give a quick background on my interest in Philosophy and introduce you to a few people that have influenced my views on the human experience and its relationship to everything else in the universe. 

I was an interesting child. I used to draw pictures of aliens and I would ask questions about life on other planets. When I was 6, there was a miscommunication and nobody was home and the doors were locked. Rather than panic, I found an open window and crawled through. I remember being alone in my house for the first time in my life and having my first existential musings. I thought about my parents and the possibility of them disappearing and what my life would be like without them. I wondered how I would feed myself or get to school and questioned my place in the world. It was a startling experience, and I didn't really experience another like it until much later, though it likely sparked future existential angst as an adult.

The thing about people who are in the throes of constant existential battles, is that they tend to at least have a smidgen of curiosity about things like philosophy, and I happen to be one of them. I’ve found great solace in reading the words of men far more patient and intelligent than I. We are all very lucky to have access to the works of so many great minds throughout human history. God save the internet. 

I’ve always been very drawn to eastern Philosophy, Taoism in particular. Now you might wonder Taoism has to do with Existentialism, but I think they have more in common than you might think. One of my favorite philosophers is Alan Watts, an expert on eastern philosophy. In several talks and writings, Alan has commented on the weirdness of life and that it seems like to him that to have nothing at all would be more reasonable.   If that isn’t existentialism then I might be in the wrong class. If you aren’t familiar with Alan, I highly recommend listening to some of his talks on youtube. Here’s a short one to get you started (the talk is much better than it sounds): 

As someone that has been heavily influenced by taoism, my take on existentialism might be slightly different. I see things far more cyclically than I did as a teen and young adult. While I often ponder the absurdity of life I also acknowledge the fact that it is here and there are plenty of things to enjoy and experience and that there’s not much point in having an awful attitude about life. On that note, I want to introduce you to my next guest, Bill Hicks. Bill was an extremely funny comedian that died of pancreas cancer at the age of 32 in 1994. You may have heard him on Tool’s song Third Eye, found on the album Aenima. Bill was far more popular in Europe than in his country of origin unfortunately. Without further adieu: 

So there you have it, life is just a ride and you can change it to a better one any time you want. That has been my Philosophy over the last 4-5 years and it has helped me lose 60lbs and make some significant changes to my daily habits. Listening to the ideas of others can be incredibly life changing and I’m looking forward to delving into not only the writing of old dead white guys, but the rest your thoughts and ideas as well.