El Filósofo

Notes from a Zenned-Out Catholic

Blog

  • a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth

    Recently I found myself in a bit of a hurry. I was headed to my mum’s, and had forgotten the clothes I’d packed so, instead of the subway, I called an Uber since I was running late. Being driven to Union station felt like a treat I seldom experienced. Relatively speaking, I rarely even need… Keep reading

  • a love note

    Just a bit of housekeeping: My subscribers may have noticed that the name of this blog has changed. What was once El Philósopho is now (For the) Love of Wisdom, and the URL has been altered accordingly. Why did I do this? Well, the idea came to me one night when I was unable to… Keep reading

  • the dao is like water

    Never mind your Hogwarts house! What type of bender would you be? In case you haven’t seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, let me explain. In Avatar, there are four nations based on the four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. Some members of each nation can control, or “bend”, their respective element, while the Avatar… Keep reading

  • Loss & Life

    We’re all different people, all through our lives. And that’s okay, that’s good, you gotta keep moving, so long as you remember the people you used to be. —The Eleventh Doctor I was having a conversation with this professor I know about healing “ministries”, or care professions in general. When we spoke about the kinds… Keep reading

  • The Legacy of No-Legacy

    I was scrolling through my Instagram reels the other day when I stumbled upon one that put me in a rather existential mood. It spoke about how, 100 years from now, we’ll be practically unknown, and everything we own will be passed along to someone else or, more than likely nowadays, rotting in a dump… Keep reading

  • The Failure of Conservatism

    I don’t talk about politics often on here. The way I see it, those subjects are best left to Facebook arguments with relatives, awkward family dinners, and first dates. (I’m only joking!) Having said that, I’m going to get a bit political today since this has been on my mind. You see, I used to… Keep reading

  • Faith, Religion, and Reason

    We’ve all heard the tired line about how faith and reason are opposed to one another, right? You may have heard things like, “Religion is irrational,” have you not? And you may scarcely have wondered about people who say they have faith but do not claim to be religious; or those who are religious but,… Keep reading

  • Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

    One time, when I was on a zen retreat, we sat around in a circle and took turns screaming imperatives as loud as we possibly could. They were very dramatic, too. We’d scream things like “Don’t waste your life!” and “Wake up!” or some such thing. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! It looked really easy, and… Keep reading

  • Cities and Stars

    I would generally consider myself a city person. I like the walkability of cities, the goings-on, the diversity, the scale, etc. But I must be honest, and I admit that I enjoy a trip to the country just as well. It’s a great feeling to get the city fumes out of your lungs and enjoy… Keep reading

  • The Boy with the Snake Tattoo

    I’ve thought for some time now that, if I were to get a tattoo, I would get one of the Ouroboros. You’ve probably seen it, even if you don’t recognise the name off the top of your head. You know, it’s the image of the snake eating its own tail. Yes, I know: it sounds… Keep reading