What this website is, what it was, and what it will be
This is the repository of the old writings of Luke Labern, written between 2008 and 2015.
This was once a detailed and thoroughly maintained set of writings, including hundreds of poems, short stories, and essays, all focused on philosophical issues: how to live, the meaning of life, existentialism, and more.
You can now read the entirety of the site as it was in the past, when many people around the world came to read my writing, tell me of its power in curing their depression, preventing their suicide, and inspiring them to start writing themselves. I have restored this writing for several reasons — with a profound caveat.
Where you see black, you see atheism; where you see pink, you see freedom from it.
Why did I take the website down?
This website was taken offline due to profound events that changed who I was.
I was an atheist then: and a fool.
Atheism: my folly, my vanity
For nine years I refused to let my work be seen or read. But now, with an eye to what is possible, I have restored the work — with this important proviso, and warning — such that the work of that man, with whom I no longer consider myself the same, can be read all the same.
The themes are still important, and the quality of the writing speaks for itself. So, too, does the sheer passion and intensity: I used words like flame to burn through what I saw as irrelevant and distracting. That passion is the mark of all true philosophers, which I believe all thinkers possess: a desire to know, to understand, and to find their way. It is for this reason that I am adding this work back to the public domain such that people — that is, you — can find and share this work. I ask only one thing:
Learn from my mistake. Do not mistake atheism for a solution, an answer, or a guide. It is precisely the opposite. It is a blindfold they call a pair of glasses. It blinds you to the truth, and allows you to mistake darkness for light.
Atheism: my recompense
There is much to do, if I am honest, to remedy the mistake I made. This site, in its preservation of those mistakes, is the first part.
How to use this site
This site is meticuluously organised: I kept a record of every piece of writing I wrote for many years, organised by type (essay, poem, story, novel extract) and by date. I organised all of this into the portfolio, which was originally mainted at the same domain. As a kind of punishment, I let that domain fall out of my control. I have regained it. Now here we are. I have re-built the site from the ground up, quite literally, using new code and new frameworks, but I have referred to the design as I left it then. It is simple, easy to read, and there is no distraction.
Head, then, to the portfolio, and begin your research into the writing of Luke Labern — a man that no longer exists — replaced by someone new, someone better, and someone wiser.
My goal, as ever, remains the preventation of suicide and the pursuit of truth. I now believe that making this work public will aid in this goal.
From here, you can view my portfolio, read the disclaimer,
learn about my latest book, Fable,
or go back to the top of the page.
While I no longer stand by the work itself, the themes remain relevant: the meaning of life, finding purpose,
exitalism, philosophical depression, nihilism, and the eessential questions of existence.
I was, and remain, open
to discussion and to advice.
You can contact me here.