3 ms·

Impersonal interests, receding ego, universal life, like rivers merging with the sea... Yes, nice comforting lullaby. Never understood these types of texts. “

• grenoire 8y ago
  I think for some of these concepts that he describes, you have to read a bit more of his other works. That clarifies it beyond what you might guess a lullaby.
• FabHK 8y ago
  > look and feel like shit" Well, but you see, there really are old people who (despite becoming frail and suffering pain) do not feel like shit. Sure, there are many comforting lullabies offering a false hope (particularly religious ones), but this one doesn't strike me as one of those. (Remember that Russell was a staunch atheist, and did not tend to subscribe to false comforting beliefs.) Just the opposite, it offers concrete advice, and embeds the process of getting older in a larger picture offering (secular) meaning.
• TaupeRanger 8y ago
  There is no sugar coating - these two ways of viewing reality are just that - two different viewpoints. It is true that you can find comfort, peace, and happiness in old age. It is also true that your body will become more frail and you will eventually lose consciousness for the last time and turn into a pile of rotting bones in the ground. These facts are not mutually exclusive. To look at the latter and ignore anything that speaks about death and old age differently is just incurious and sad.