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Steve Lee#17 Dear K
Steve Lee (b. 1983), Intuition, 2023, Digital artwork (iPad), 1280 × 1124 pxIt’s already been over 10 days since you came into this world. I’m excited to watch you grow and curious about how your presence will shape my life. I’ll try not to see you as someone less mature than me just because you’re young. I’ll see you as your own person. I won’t try to trap you in my standards just because I’ve ‘developed’ more. I’ll stand by your side so your life can unfold on its own.When we talk, I’ll loo...
Steve Lee#17 K에게
Steve Lee (b. 1983), Intuition, 2023, Digital artwork (iPad), 1280 × 1124 px지난주에 처음 이세상에 나온 후로 벌써 십여 일이 지났네. 앞으로 네가 성장해 나가는 모습들이 설레고, 또 내 인생을 어떻게 물들일지도 궁금하단다. 네가 어리다고 해서 너를 ‘나보다’ 미숙한 존재로 보지 않고, 하나의 인격체로 보도록 노력할게. 내가 더 ‘발달했다’고 해서 내 기준으로 너를 가두지 않고, 네 삶이 스스로 펼쳐질 수 있도록 곁에서 도와줄게.너와 이야기할 땐 꼭 눈을 보고 말할게. “미안, 지금은 안 될 것 같아”라고 거절해야 할 때도 너에게 시선을 두고 이야기할게. 화를 낼 때도, 꼭 눈을 보고 이유를 설명할게.때론 시시하고, 엉뚱해도, 너에게 질문을 많이 하는 사람이 될게. “하늘은 왜 파란색이지?” “저 사람 표정은 왜 슬퍼 보일까?” “어떤 맛인지 색깔로 표현해볼래?” “이 음악 들으니까 어떤 그림이 떠올라?” 벌써 너의 대...
Steve Lee#5 한시간의 여행
Finding Inner Peace
<100 subscribers
Steve Lee#17 Dear K
Steve Lee (b. 1983), Intuition, 2023, Digital artwork (iPad), 1280 × 1124 pxIt’s already been over 10 days since you came into this world. I’m excited to watch you grow and curious about how your presence will shape my life. I’ll try not to see you as someone less mature than me just because you’re young. I’ll see you as your own person. I won’t try to trap you in my standards just because I’ve ‘developed’ more. I’ll stand by your side so your life can unfold on its own.When we talk, I’ll loo...
Steve Lee#17 K에게
Steve Lee (b. 1983), Intuition, 2023, Digital artwork (iPad), 1280 × 1124 px지난주에 처음 이세상에 나온 후로 벌써 십여 일이 지났네. 앞으로 네가 성장해 나가는 모습들이 설레고, 또 내 인생을 어떻게 물들일지도 궁금하단다. 네가 어리다고 해서 너를 ‘나보다’ 미숙한 존재로 보지 않고, 하나의 인격체로 보도록 노력할게. 내가 더 ‘발달했다’고 해서 내 기준으로 너를 가두지 않고, 네 삶이 스스로 펼쳐질 수 있도록 곁에서 도와줄게.너와 이야기할 땐 꼭 눈을 보고 말할게. “미안, 지금은 안 될 것 같아”라고 거절해야 할 때도 너에게 시선을 두고 이야기할게. 화를 낼 때도, 꼭 눈을 보고 이유를 설명할게.때론 시시하고, 엉뚱해도, 너에게 질문을 많이 하는 사람이 될게. “하늘은 왜 파란색이지?” “저 사람 표정은 왜 슬퍼 보일까?” “어떤 맛인지 색깔로 표현해볼래?” “이 음악 들으니까 어떤 그림이 떠올라?” 벌써 너의 대...
Steve Lee#5 한시간의 여행
Finding Inner Peace
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
Recently I watched the movie Living. It’s about an elderly man who has worked as a civil servant for decades. His monotonous, repetitive life changes when he receives a diagnosis that he only has six months to live, prompting him to search for meaning in the small, everyday moments.
The reason life is precious is because it has an end. Thanks to death, we are given the conditions to assign meaning to our lives—what an irony. But if we look around, it isn’t that difficult to find out that unpleasant and difficult things bring about meaningful outcomes:
To gain health, we do exercises we don’t want to do, resist the urge to indulge in food, and pull ourselves away from the comfort of the couch and short-form videos.
To have a unique perspective, we give up the dopamine rush of social pleasures and instead read books, and endure the pain of ‘doing nothing’ in meditation to synthesize our thoughts.
For the long-term value of a company, we fire a close colleague who lacks capability, and even if it leads to dislike from others, we say what we believe is right.
Perhaps, as Schopenhauer suggested, our happiness lies in acknowledging that our desires and wants will never fully be satisfied, and by further accepting that the default of life might be suffering. In doing so, we can be encouraged to endure the meaningful hardships, and in the process, find great significance and joy in life’s small moments.
The image of the protagonist in Living, smiling on his final swing after finding deep meaning and happiness in his once ‘boring’ routine, lingers in my mind. Perhaps suffering may not only bring pain but also the moment when we realize life’s impermanent nature. It may offer a chance to see the light of happiness on the other side of the shade.
Recently I watched the movie Living. It’s about an elderly man who has worked as a civil servant for decades. His monotonous, repetitive life changes when he receives a diagnosis that he only has six months to live, prompting him to search for meaning in the small, everyday moments.
The reason life is precious is because it has an end. Thanks to death, we are given the conditions to assign meaning to our lives—what an irony. But if we look around, it isn’t that difficult to find out that unpleasant and difficult things bring about meaningful outcomes:
To gain health, we do exercises we don’t want to do, resist the urge to indulge in food, and pull ourselves away from the comfort of the couch and short-form videos.
To have a unique perspective, we give up the dopamine rush of social pleasures and instead read books, and endure the pain of ‘doing nothing’ in meditation to synthesize our thoughts.
For the long-term value of a company, we fire a close colleague who lacks capability, and even if it leads to dislike from others, we say what we believe is right.
Perhaps, as Schopenhauer suggested, our happiness lies in acknowledging that our desires and wants will never fully be satisfied, and by further accepting that the default of life might be suffering. In doing so, we can be encouraged to endure the meaningful hardships, and in the process, find great significance and joy in life’s small moments.
The image of the protagonist in Living, smiling on his final swing after finding deep meaning and happiness in his once ‘boring’ routine, lingers in my mind. Perhaps suffering may not only bring pain but also the moment when we realize life’s impermanent nature. It may offer a chance to see the light of happiness on the other side of the shade.
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