205. De-numbing from Tech: Greg M. Epstein [reads] “Once More to the Lake”

Greg M. Epstein reads from E.B. White’s essay, Once More to the Lake, and Madeline Ostrander’s essay on the ethics of bringing children into a world facing climate uncertainty, reflecting on how nostalgia and future anxieties shape our understanding of legacy and purpose. He explores how our connections to the past and future influence not only how we experience the present but also how we find resilience in facing today’s challenges.

Today’s guest is Greg M. Epstein, the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and MIT and author of Good Without God. For two decades, Greg has built a community of secular and non-religious students and thinkers. He discusses how humanism, self-reflection, and embracing vulnerability can lead to meaning and connection, even in the face of existential challenges.

Greg’s reflections offer insight into staying grounded and finding purpose amid overwhelming change.

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Greg reads from two essays: first, E.B. White’s Once More to the Lake, and then Madeline Ostrander’s How Do You Decide to Have a Baby When Climate Change Is Remaking Life on Earth? contemplating memory and time. [Reading begins at 14:27]

Hear us discuss:

“What if I could have, with the opportunities that were available to me, lived more deeply, appreciated more fully, connected more passionately, and done more to help others?” [04:27] | "I learned to feel regret at a young age... I regretted being who I was because I felt that it was incredibly important to be somebody else." [10:29] | "If we didn't grieve, if we didn't take time to feel deep sadness when we lose someone... then we wouldn't be paying them proper respect and in the sense we wouldn't be paying proper respect to the energy and time that we've invested in them. | “The pursuit of perfection is the biggest force taking us away from our ability to experience beauty and meaning.” [43:28]