A while ago I decided to read a novel of Ayn Rand because her ideas couldn't be further away from my own. So I thought.

Last week I had a discussion with a colleague about lotteries. We both agreed that the change of winning a lottery is absolutely small. His point was that people take part in lotteries because dreaming about winning makes them happy. My point was that winning a lottery couldn't make anyone happy, because money in itself doesn't make people happy. It only makes you happy if you know the value of it. The only way you'll know the value of money is by earning it.

On my way home it occurred to me: not every idea of Ayn Rand is that far away from my own ideas. This is probably one idea we would share.

Of course people that need help from the government should get it. Everyone should be able to afford a certain basic standard of living in our society. And we must help each other, but when someone is able to earn a living we must support her or him to do so.

Last week I posted a video on Ezekiel. While on the subject of Ezekiel: here's a video on the verse from Ezekiel that is used as a base for the movie Pulp Fiction.

Ezekiel 37 is a strange, but beautifull, par of the Bible. A team of artists made a short video picturing this Biblical chapter.

This project was a collaborative effort that spanned countries & time zones with several artists working long hours to finally put this piece out. The passage comes from an Old Testament prophecy, taken from Ezekiel 37. Not only is the text extremely descriptive and visual, lending itself to beautiful imagery, but show that where there is death and exile, hope and life can be found.

A while ago I posted a movie about the paradox of choice. Being able to choose gives us humans freedom. On the other hand choices bring along fear. Before choosing there are multiple possibilities. To choose means to loose one or more possibilities. The fear that choice brings with it is the fear of loss. The one who chooses can also experience grieve on the possibilities that aren't possible anymore.

In our society being able to choose is utterly important. This is the reason we value being young. Being young means that all your options are still open. Your life still has to be lived. Some people have a hard time growing old. This is because this implies the loss of choice.

Recently I've read Man's search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This book really was an eye-opener for me. His vision on this subject is as follows:

"What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has He any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him? 'No, thank you,' he will think. 'Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, though these are things of which cannot inspire envy.'"