Day 10 · Q1: Self-Knowledge · January 10, 2026
Pause. Breathe. Begin.
I . L E C T I O
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 1
“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart.”
C O N T E X T
Rilke wrote this in 1903 to a 19-year-old military cadet who had sent him poems. Instead of critiquing the poems, Rilke redirected the young man inward — suggesting that the only valid artistic question is an internal one.
I I . M E D I T A T I O
“What calls you from within — and have you had the courage to answer it?”
I I I . S C R I P T I O
Write one sentence about something you feel compelled to do but haven't started.
I V . C O N N E X I O
Rilke's advice to 'go into yourself' parallels Montaigne's back shop and Marcus's inner citadel. But Rilke adds something new: a creative imperative. How does creativity deepen self-knowledge?
This practice exists because of readers like you.
Sustain it →Tomorrow's passage, delivered at dawn.