[Steve,]

Dare I say, we haven't the leisure for introspective revelation? Has our very wealth (and the drive to accumulate ever more material possessions) actually impoverished our lives? It is quite astonishing how disdainfully popular culture looks upon the quiet life. The very concept of "boredom" connotes a deep commitment to a life with no time to rest or reflect. I hear all around me a constant chorus singing the praises of tan skin (a sign of working in the field), full schedules (a sign of constant labor), and hard bodies (a sign of both). The dominant aesthetic of our lives betrays an alarming antagonism toward self-discovery. I could go on, but there is much I must do. Ah, work: there is nothing like the modern world to push aside the mystery of consciousness and the silence it occupies.

[David Robert Foss]