“If any have offended thee…second, consider what kind of men they are at table, in bed, and so forth: and particularly, under what compulsions in respect of opinions they are; and as to their acts, consider with what pride they do what they do.” Marcus Aurelius Book 11
Nobody’s perfect. Some are less perfect than others. Again, my goal as a Stoic is to be above the fray. Continue reading
All men’s difficulties and perplexities are concerned with external things. ‘What am I to do?’ ‘How is it to be done?’ ‘How is it to turn out?’ ‘I fear this or that may befall me.’ All these phrases are used by persons occupied with matters outside their will.” Epictetus Discourses Book 4 Chapter 10.
There is a never-ending urge for us to focus on things external and things in the future. Don’t get me wrong, we all take care of business by managing things external, Continue reading
In your preparation for taking on life, there are three facets of your training that are key. You’ve heard them before, as they are nothing new. They are Body, Mind, and Spirit. A Stoic Hero, of course has his own spin on these three aspects. I know these seem kind of cliche. I tried to be more original but there really is no other way to break it down. To be ready, to be virtuous (which means to be happy), I have to work on all three. They are not independent of each other…no way! Your physical health is affected by your mind and spirit, your mind is connected to your body is connected to your emotional well being, and on and on. Interestingly, each of these aspects fit quite nicely with the buoys on my philosophical raft. Continue reading
I need to spend more time in the now. Like everyone, I spend far too much time grasping, chasing, and hunting for things that just aren’t that important. I told my wife the other day, that my problem is that I want to “make a million dollars, help a million people, and live a million years.” When I said this, she thought “live a million years” meant I wanted to leave a legacy with my work. I thought about it for a while, and indeed that is something that I want; it’s one of those motivators that puts me back on the grasping trail. However, what I really meant by “live a million years” was that I wanted to literally “live a million years.” Talk about unrealistic expectations! Continue reading
“To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.” Tacitus