Have you ever looked back at your life path and realized that your most "calculated" choices were actually driven by an invisible hand?

Sparked by Paolo Sorrentino’s film Parthenope and its haunting theme song, I reflect on a decade of wandering, from an improbable visa in New Zealand, to a chaos-filled leap to London, to a sudden surrender on the cobblestone streets of Lisbon. We talk about why our rational brains construct neat narratives after the fact, how the Portuguese concept of Saudade offers a way out of the rat race, and why surrendering to your life’s script might just be the ultimate form of freedom.

Film: Parthenope (2024), directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
Music: "Era già tutto previsto" by Riccardo Cocciante (1975).
The Stanford Commencement Address (2005): Steve Jobs on connecting the dots looking backward rather than forward.
Philosophy & Theology:
- Nietzsche: Amor Fati ("Love of Fate") — embracing every joy, tragedy, and setback as essential to your story.
- Buddhism: Hetu-Pratyaya (因缘和合) — the interdependence of causes and conditions coming to fruition.
- Taoism: Wu Wei (无为) — effortless action through alignment with the natural flow of the cosmos.

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus: Essential reading on finding joy and meaning within inescapable reality.

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa: Written by Portugal’s master poet in Lisbon, exploring the depth of Saudade and existence.

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#169: Call it destiny. Call it fate.

Chiwi Journal

#169: Call it destiny. Call it fate.