{"id":40,"date":"2023-12-11T17:12:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T17:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/?p=40"},"modified":"2024-01-13T19:02:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T19:02:42","slug":"hunter-s-thompsons-letter-on-finding-your-purpose-and-living-a-meaningful-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/?p=40","title":{"rendered":"Hunter S. Thompson\u2019s Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In April of 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was 22 years old when he wrote this letter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 22, 1958
57 Perry Street
New York City<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Hume,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For to give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point a man to the right and ultimate goal\u2014 to point with a trembling finger in the RIGHT direction is something only a fool would take upon himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not a fool, but I respect your sincerity in asking my advice. I ask you though, in listening to what I say, to remember that all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it. What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine. If I were to attempt to give you specific advice, it would be too much like the blind leading the blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether \u2019tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles \u2026 \u201d (Shakespeare)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And indeed, that IS the question: whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a choice we must all make consciously or unconsciously at one time in our lives. So few people understand this! Think of any decision you\u2019ve ever made which had a bearing on your future: I may be wrong, but I don\u2019t see how it could have been anything but a choice however indirect\u2014 between the two things I\u2019ve mentioned: the floating or the swimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why not float if you have no goal? That is another question. It is unquestionably better to enjoy the floating than to swim in uncertainty. So how does a man find a goal? Not a castle in the stars, but a real and tangible thing. How can a man be sure he\u2019s not after the \u201cbig rock candy mountain,\u201d the enticing sugar-candy goal that has little taste and no substance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer\u2014 and, in a sense, the tragedy of life\u2014 is that we seek to understand the goal and not the man. We set up a goal which demands of us certain things: and we do these things. We adjust to the demands of a concept which CANNOT be valid. When you were young, let us say that you wanted to be a fireman. I feel reasonably safe in saying that you no longer want to be a fireman. Why? Because your perspective has changed. It\u2019s not the fireman who has changed, but you. Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it would seem foolish, would it not, to adjust our lives to the demands of a goal we see from a different angle every day? How could we ever hope to accomplish anything other than galloping neurosis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer, then, must not deal with goals at all, or not with tangible goals, anyway. It would take reams of paper to develop this subject to fulfillment. God only knows how many books have been written on \u201cthe meaning of man\u201d and that sort of thing, and god only knows how many people have pondered the subject. (I use the term \u201cgod only knows\u201d purely as an expression.) There\u2019s very little sense in my trying to give it up to you in the proverbial nutshell, because I\u2019m the first to admit my absolute lack of qualifications for reducing the meaning of life to one or two paragraphs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to steer clear of the word \u201cexistentialism,\u201d but you might keep it in mind as a key of sorts. You might also try something called Being and Nothingness<\/em><\/a> by Jean-Paul Sartre, and another little thing called Existentialism: From Dostoyevsky to Sartre<\/em><\/a>. These are merely suggestions. If you\u2019re genuinely satisfied with what you are and what you\u2019re doing, then give those books a wide berth. (Let sleeping dogs lie.) But back to the answer. As I said, to put our faith in tangible goals would seem to be, at best, unwise. So we do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. WE STRIVE TO BE OURSELVES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don\u2019t misunderstand me. I don\u2019t mean that we can\u2019t BE firemen, bankers, or doctors\u2014 but that we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal. In every man, heredity and environment have combined to produce a creature of certain abilities and desires\u2014 including a deeply ingrained need to function in such a way that his life will be MEANINGFUL. A man has to BE something; he has to matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I see it then, the formula runs something like this: a man must choose a path which will let his ABILITIES function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his DESIRES. In doing this, he is fulfilling a need (giving himself identity by functioning in a set pattern toward a set goal), he avoids frustrating his potential (choosing a path which puts no limit on his self-development), and he avoids the terror of seeing his goal wilt or lose its charm as he draws closer to it (rather than bending himself to meet the demands of that which he seeks, he has bent his goal to conform to his own abilities and desires).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, he has not dedicated his life to reaching a pre-defined goal, but he has rather chosen a way of life he KNOWS he will enjoy. The goal is absolutely secondary: it is the functioning toward the goal which is important. And it seems almost ridiculous to say that a man MUST function in a pattern of his own choosing; for to let another man define your own goals is to give up one of the most meaningful aspects of life\u2014 the definitive act of will which makes a man an individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s assume that you think you have a choice of eight paths to follow (all pre-defined paths, of course). And let\u2019s assume that you can\u2019t see any real purpose in any of the eight. THEN\u2014 and here is the essence of all I\u2019ve said\u2014 you MUST FIND A NINTH PATH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, it isn\u2019t as easy as it sounds. You\u2019ve lived a relatively narrow life, a vertical rather than a horizontal existence. So it isn\u2019t any too difficult to understand why you seem to feel the way you do. But a man who procrastinates in his CHOOSING will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life. But you say, \u201cI don\u2019t know where to look; I don\u2019t know what to look for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s the crux. Is it worth giving up what I have to look for something better? I don\u2019t know\u2014 is it? Who can make that decision but you? But even by DECIDING TO LOOK, you go a long way toward making the choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I don\u2019t call this to a halt, I\u2019m going to find myself writing a book. I hope it\u2019s not as confusing as it looks at first glance. Keep in mind, of course, that this is MY WAY of looking at things. I happen to think that it\u2019s pretty generally applicable, but you may not. Each of us has to create our own credo\u2014 this merely happens to be mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any part of it doesn\u2019t seem to make sense, by all means call it to my attention. I\u2019m not trying to send you out \u201con the road\u201d in search of Valhalla, but merely pointing out that it is not necessary to accept the choices handed down to you by life as you know it. There is more to it than that\u2014 no one HAS to do something he doesn\u2019t want to do for the rest of his life. But then again, if that\u2019s what you wind up doing, by all means convince yourself that you HAD to do it. You\u2019ll have lots of company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s it for now. Until I hear from you again, I remain,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

your friend,
Hunter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In April of 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was 22 years old when he wrote this letter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice. April 22, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City Dear Hume, You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM.png",1748,1438,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM-300x247.png",300,247,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM-768x632.png",768,632,true],"large":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM-1024x842.png",1024,842,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM-1536x1264.png",1536,1264,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.27.42-PM.png",1748,1438,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"jpeirce","author_link":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":3,"uagb_excerpt":"In April of 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was 22 years old when he wrote this letter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice. April 22, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City Dear Hume, You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/50"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanpeirce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}