Existential Reflections

by Menno van der Land

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  • Home
  • About
  • Essays
  • Musings
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Musings

    Distinguishing feelings from thoughts

    Menno van der Land / April 10, 2019

    How many times do we say or think: Probably I use some of these expressions myself sometimes as well. But these are not feelings. They are thoughts. You think you are powerless and…

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  • Essays

    Are we like hamsters?

    Menno van der Land / March 17, 2019

    Many of us are working to improve their emotional well-being by addressing past experiences and traumas, either by themselves or guided by a therapist. Let me be clear that I think paying attention…

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  • Musings

    Guy Winch on rejection

    Menno van der Land / March 11, 2019

    At some point in our lives, all of us have to deal with rejection (either romantically or professional or otherwise). Now, I am currently reading a book by psychologist Guy Winch, and in…

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  • Musings

    On expectations

    Menno van der Land / March 3, 2019

    I recently attended a mini class on ‘expectations’. You know, those tricky imaginations that we all have about what future events are supposed to be like. It was good to be reminded of…

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  • Musings

    Still the echo

    Menno van der Land / February 24, 2019

    “Still the echo, so that you don’t allow an event, however unpleasant or momentous, to claim any more time than it took for it to occur. Because what your foes do derives its…

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  • Musings

    On failing

    Menno van der Land / February 8, 2019

    When something goes wrong, a lot of people blame themselves. They feel they have failed, they are to blame. Does that sound familiar? In that case I would like to share an analogy…

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  • Musings

    “The subtle art of not giving a f*ck” in 10 quotes

    Menno van der Land / January 24, 2019

    I highly recommend Mark Manson’s book “The subtle art of not giving a f*ck”. It’s not a self-help book like most others, instead it’s an unscrupulous slap in the face, but very insightful…

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Newer Posts 

Welcome to Existential Reflections

My name is Menno van der Land. Based in the beautiful city of Leiden, the Netherlands, I am exploring the world and existence. Read more

Recent musing

Every time someone asks me if I have children, and my answer is ‘no’, I am amazed that the default follow-up question is: “why not?” Apparently it’s OK to ask people to justify their highly personal life choices. Especially when those choices deviate from what is considered ‘normal.’ People who do have children rarely have to defend themselves. Although in my opinion it makes more sense to ask people why they chose to have children. A convincing answer to why you would bring children into this world, proving you have given it proper consideration, seems more appropriate to me than having to justify staying childfree.

5 misunderstandings about being introverted

Existential roadtrip

Books in Dutch

I have published two books about the history of the Dutch political party D66: Tussen ideaal en illusie and Langs de afgrond. My latest book is Friese voorouders, about the story of my Frisian ancestors, a story spanning 500 years and 13 generations. You can read more about my books in Dutch here.

Travel

Never having left my home country as a kid, I have been traveling the world my whole adult life. I feel very fortunate that I have been able to visit many incredibly beautiful places around the world. I have set up a dedicated website about my travels: Traveling Dutchie.

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