“Life is going to be a mess, one way or the other. You just sort of choose your mess,” said Daniel Jones, the founder of a weekly Modern Love column. How do we then ease into our lives if, no matter which path we take, things will just be a mess?

Does a bucket list actually help you make happen what you really want in life? Or, is a bucket list simply a holding place for unfulfilled dreams, which are often being postponed “until a better time”? Is it a list to which you may get when you have more money, more time, a partner, a different partner, freedom, you’re your children grow up, retirement, or when your other goals are met first?

People feel lonelier than ever these days, partly because connectivity does not equal connection, and staying engaged is not as easy in our fast-paced world. What can we do to counteract loneliness?

While we may have a sense of certainty at times, actual certainty remains as unreachable as the horizon line; uncertainty is the default ever-present context which we inhabit – we can’t get out of uncertainty any more than we can exit the universe. How do we cope?

Kids get many fresh starts: a new start each school year, new sports, and clubs. Can adults ever get a fresh start, considering our wisdom & baggage?