Kierkegaard

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. Don't wish for wealth or power. Wish for a passion for what's possible.

   Kierkegaard's young aesthete wants the eye that sees possibility everywhere, always young and burning. Wealth and power wear out; the sense of what could be does not. Protect your capacity to imagine.

   Either/Or I, Diapsalmata, our translation from the Danish

2. Pleasure disappoints. Possibility never does.

   Getting what you wanted often feels smaller than wanting it. Possibility keeps its fizz. Keep something ahead of you to reach for.

   Either/Or I, Diapsalmata, our translation from the Danish

3. People never use the freedoms they have. They demand the ones they don't.

   Kierkegaard's example: people have freedom of thought and demand freedom of speech. We overlook what we already hold. Use the freedom you have before asking for more.

   Either/Or I, Diapsalmata, our translation from the Danish

4. Marry and you'll regret it. Don't marry and you'll regret that too.

   This is the opening of an ecstatic lecture on the futility of every choice. Kierkegaard's aesthete uses it to dodge commitment, and the rest of the book argues back. Every path has a cost, so choose anyway.

   Either/Or I, Diapsalmata, our translation from the Danish

5. Laugh at the world's follies or weep over them. You'll regret both.

   The same lecture runs through laughing, weeping, trusting and more. Regret is guaranteed whichever way you go. Since you cannot avoid it, do not let fear of it decide for you.

   Either/Or I, Diapsalmata, our translation from the Danish

6. Starting is easy for philosophers. Stopping is the hard part.

   Philosophy begins with nothing, Kierkegaard jokes, so it can always begin. Knowing when to stop is the real skill. Finish your thought and act.

   Either/Or I, Diapsalmata, our translation from the Danish