a recent letter from a friend in prague had me remembering my stay there during january of 2008.
václav havel’s essays, plays, and writings impressed upon my visit to the czech republic — to see the country as havel himself shaped it (havel having been the last president of czechoslovakia and the first president of the czech republic).
and to visit prague, the very city where havel was born — the very city that started (and still resonates) his legacy.
and so it has, for me, become a dedicated measure and practice to see the world as havel sees it — and to live life as havel intends it to be lived:

“There are no exact guidelines. There are probably no guidelines at all. The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. Awareness of all the most dangerous kinds of vanity, both in others and in ourselves. A good mind. A modest certainty about the meaning of things. Gratitude for the gift of life and the courage to take responsibility for it. Vigilance of spirit.” (Havel’s speech upon receiving the Open Society Prize awarded by the Central European University in 1999, trans. by Paul Wilson).