On Mottos and the Future
If I had a motto, beyond "No, leave me alone", it would be Numquam Dubita . Like all good pithy Latin phrases, it's a little obscure, pseudo-profound, and hard to fathom until it's explained to you. Numquam Dubita can be translated as a range of things: 'Never Regret', 'Never Doubt', 'Never Hesitate'. It has senses close to 'carpe diem', or even 'keep on trucking'. At a push, it can mean (and it pains me to say this) 'be true to yourself'. But the sense of it is always the same. It's a rejection of fear. A rejection of the belief that the universe is bigger than you. A rejection of life grabbing you by the throat and sending you wither it wills. It's the affirmation that you are a true agent, that the things that constitute your life are decided by you and you alone, and that you are the only one with power over yourself. That thought becomes important to me at this time of year. For the past weeks, you...