Elizabeth Weingarten

19-year-old aspiring poet by the name of Franz Kappes. It's from the early 20th century. And it's a book that counts people like Lady Gaga, Dustin Hoffman, Marilyn Monroe among its fans. And Lady Gaga, I learned, even has a line from it tattooed on her. Pretty amazing. The whole book is beautiful. Highly recommend that folks read it. But I was struck by one part of it in particular.

19-year-old aspiring poet by the name of Franz Kappes. It's from the early 20th century. And it's a book that counts people like Lady Gaga, Dustin Hoffman, Marilyn Monroe among its fans. And Lady Gaga, I learned, even has a line from it tattooed on her. Pretty amazing. The whole book is beautiful. Highly recommend that folks read it. But I was struck by one part of it in particular.

19-year-old aspiring poet by the name of Franz Kappes. It's from the early 20th century. And it's a book that counts people like Lady Gaga, Dustin Hoffman, Marilyn Monroe among its fans. And Lady Gaga, I learned, even has a line from it tattooed on her. Pretty amazing. The whole book is beautiful. Highly recommend that folks read it. But I was struck by one part of it in particular.

And this is a part where Cappas, this aspiring poet, is asking Rilke, who he's 27 at the time when he's writing to him. Cappas is asking Rilke for all kinds of advice, not only about how to become a poet himself, but how to live his life. And Rilke very famously responds not with an answer,

And this is a part where Cappas, this aspiring poet, is asking Rilke, who he's 27 at the time when he's writing to him. Cappas is asking Rilke for all kinds of advice, not only about how to become a poet himself, but how to live his life. And Rilke very famously responds not with an answer,

And this is a part where Cappas, this aspiring poet, is asking Rilke, who he's 27 at the time when he's writing to him. Cappas is asking Rilke for all kinds of advice, not only about how to become a poet himself, but how to live his life. And Rilke very famously responds not with an answer,

per se, but by telling Capus how important it is to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a foreign language. And he also advises Capus not to search for the answers now to his questions, but talks about the importance of living the questions.

per se, but by telling Capus how important it is to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a foreign language. And he also advises Capus not to search for the answers now to his questions, but talks about the importance of living the questions.

per se, but by telling Capus how important it is to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a foreign language. And he also advises Capus not to search for the answers now to his questions, but talks about the importance of living the questions.

But Rilke, in this passage, he never explained what he meant by living the questions now, or even how to think about practically what it means to love the questions. And he also, unfortunately, wasn't talking or thinking about how to do this in a time of AI, Google, smartphones, social media influencers.

But Rilke, in this passage, he never explained what he meant by living the questions now, or even how to think about practically what it means to love the questions. And he also, unfortunately, wasn't talking or thinking about how to do this in a time of AI, Google, smartphones, social media influencers.

But Rilke, in this passage, he never explained what he meant by living the questions now, or even how to think about practically what it means to love the questions. And he also, unfortunately, wasn't talking or thinking about how to do this in a time of AI, Google, smartphones, social media influencers.

So this book is really an exploration of how to fall in love with the questions of our lives, particularly the ones that can be painful, and especially in a culture in which so many of us have become addicted to fast, easy answers. And I'll say too, this book is really about my journey to explore this question through science, history, philosophy, poetry, religion, art.

So this book is really an exploration of how to fall in love with the questions of our lives, particularly the ones that can be painful, and especially in a culture in which so many of us have become addicted to fast, easy answers. And I'll say too, this book is really about my journey to explore this question through science, history, philosophy, poetry, religion, art.

So this book is really an exploration of how to fall in love with the questions of our lives, particularly the ones that can be painful, and especially in a culture in which so many of us have become addicted to fast, easy answers. And I'll say too, this book is really about my journey to explore this question through science, history, philosophy, poetry, religion, art.

And I wrote it because when I was facing down this really painful uncertainty in my life, I was craving a guide to help me navigate it. Not someone or something to give me the answers necessarily, but to help me understand the experience better and to share wisdom from folks who had experienced been there and come through it.

And I wrote it because when I was facing down this really painful uncertainty in my life, I was craving a guide to help me navigate it. Not someone or something to give me the answers necessarily, but to help me understand the experience better and to share wisdom from folks who had experienced been there and come through it.

And I wrote it because when I was facing down this really painful uncertainty in my life, I was craving a guide to help me navigate it. Not someone or something to give me the answers necessarily, but to help me understand the experience better and to share wisdom from folks who had experienced been there and come through it.

To research this book, interviewed scientists, artists, religious scholars, historians, philosophers, talked to a professor with a mysterious illness who devoted her life to figuring out how to live better in uncertainty. A woman who was paralyzed in a car accident, who was rediscovering her identity.

To research this book, interviewed scientists, artists, religious scholars, historians, philosophers, talked to a professor with a mysterious illness who devoted her life to figuring out how to live better in uncertainty. A woman who was paralyzed in a car accident, who was rediscovering her identity.