The main philosophical struggle of our times is between two philosophical systems.

One of them is based on the idea that there is an objective reality that exists outside of us. For the religious, it’s God’s law. For the secular, it’s the natural order. Within this conceptual system, human beings must understand this objective reality to the best of their ability and engage with it optimally on the basis of that knowledge. Humans have free will but it’s limited by objective circumstances outside of our control.

The second philosophical system is based on the idea that there is no objective reality outside of human perception. Perception is reality. Everybody has their own truth. Every individual is a law onto himself. “First there was the Word, and the Word was from God, and that God is every human being” is the summary of this system of thought.

We are caught between these battling philosophies of existence. They are completely incompatible because in one of them the source of truth and creation lies outside of our minds and in the other it lies within.

– household chores become enjoyable

– one of the activities you fantasize about doing in bed is sleeping

– when you see people gossiping about you, you can’t be bothered to wonder why

– when you say “no” to a request, you feel no need to offer an excuse or an explanation

– late nights have consequences

– characters in favorite movies suddenly begin to look very young

– it feels weird when strangers or young people address you by your first name

– the number of things you feel like you have to when you don’t want to do dramatically diminishes

– embarrassment becomes a long-forgotten experience

– young people start asking you for advice about their love lives

I experienced all this since last week, and I know feel thoroughly middle-aged.