The Genius of Leo Tolstoy: The Meaning of Life Is The Meaning We Put Into It
Your first responsibility is to understand yourself
Leo Tolstoy is considered one of the greatest writers of all time. His novels, including “War and Peace,” “Anna Karenina”, and “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” are well known and have been translated into dozens of languages.
Leo Tolstoy maintained a deep commitment to simple living and ethical principles. He focused on what was important — family, friends, love for others, reading books, learning new things — and not on material things or personal vanity.
Leo Tolstoy was plagued by existential crises throughout his life. His unhappiness took the form of asceticism, leading him to give up all his worldly possessions, leaving him unhappy with that decision too.
This led to further soul-searching, pondering the meaning of life and writing an epic trilogy about it. The result is some of the most profound literary insight into what it means to be human; that we are not simply the people we appear to be on the surface but something much deeper underneath.
In addition to writing popular fiction, Tolstoy was also a great thinker, philosopher, and social reformer. His works influenced many writers and thinkers of his time.
