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Spiritual treat

Some of you might have heard of Maria Popova and her famous blog Brain Pickings, where she writes about how to live a good life and what does it mean.  She collects insights from all sorts of disciplines, from philosophy to poetry, science, physics, arts, and so much more. Her latest interview on the podcast On Being is a spiritual treat that I definitely recommend you listening to. 

Close to the end, Krista Tippett, the interviewer, brings up a very interesting topic from Seth Godin's blog about the challenge of teaching people what they need versus giving them what they want. I can't tell you how many hours have I thought about this and how many times have I discussed this with friends and family. It's such a complex point of view, where you are constantly divided between being somewhat patronising towards others with your thoughts and feelings about what's right, or letting them just be responsible and free to like and choose whatever they want. Can one teach people what they need without being slightly judgemental? I guess the line is tenuous. Yet, I feel grateful for those who play that role because they are the ones who make me question about my life and beliefs.