Last Week

The Daily Stoic

The Practicing Stoic

Meditations

How to Be a Stoic

If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool, H/T mindyourbusiness:

The Stoic Challenge

Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.

May 21

“But what is philosophy? Doesn’t it simply mean preparing ourselves for what may come? Don’t you understand that really amounts to saying that if I would so prepare myself to endure, then let anything happen that will? Otherwise, it would be like the boxer exiting the ring because he took some punches. Actually, you can leave the boxing ring without consequence, but what advantage would come from abandoning the pursuit of wisdom? So, what should each of us say to every trial we face? This is what
I’ve trained for, for this my discipline!”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.10.6–7

I won’t abandon the Stoic philosophy because I am having a rough week. After a couple of weeks with anger under control, I have relapsed this week. It is mostly due to not sleeping enough, or trying to do demanding tasks while hungry. When I let the anger get in control, it is because I am not setting myself up for success and then not using the tools I have learned to get in a better state of mind.

 

May 22

“You get what you deserve. Instead of being a good person today, you choose instead to become one tomorrow.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.22

“I don’t complain about the lack of time . . . what little I have will go far enough. Today—this day—will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about. I will lay siege to the gods and shake up the world.”
—SENECA, MEDEA, 423–425

it is entirely too easy to say to myself “I’ll do that next week”. I started working out again, but it was a week later than I planned. This is because I stayed up too late on a Sunday and decided to sleep in instead of waking up early enough to go running in the morning. I went running in the afternoon instead of going to the gym. I have been doing better in the 2 weeks since then and need to continue to make good use of my time.

 

May 23

“Show me that the good life doesn’t consist in its length, but in its use, and that it is possible—no, entirely too common—for a person who has had a long life to have lived too little.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 49.10b

This is another reminder that there is no guarantee that I will live any length of time. It is a guarantee that I control how I spend my time. Not everything I do is productive, but I try to make sure it is mostly good for me. Making my wife happy is also a big part of how I spend my time, but she’s pretty simple so that’s one of my easier responsibilities.

 

May 24

“You say, good fortune used to meet you at every corner. But the fortunate person is the one who gives themselves a good fortune. And good fortunes are a well-tuned soul, good impulses and good
actions.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.36

This quote reminds me of Frederick Douglass describing his Grandmother as having a reputation for good luck with plants. He also described how she took roots into the cabin in the winter and was very diligent about where and how deep she planted them. The same is true in life, I could be called very lucky to be in my current marital situation, but I was very careful about who I married and was very intent from day one on ensuring I did not get divorced.

 

May 25

“Joy for human beings lies in proper human work. And proper human work consists in: acts of kindness to other human beings, disdain for the stirrings of the senses, identifying trustworthy impressions, and contemplating the natural order and all that happens in keeping with it.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.26

The best way for me to be happy and have piece of mind is to do what I am supposed to. That encompasses my job, home life and taking care of my physical health. If I neglect any of these it is easy to get in a cycle of anger and stress.

 

May 26

“I’m constantly amazed by how easily we love ourselves above all others, yet we put more stock in the opinions of others than in our own estimation of self. . . . How much credence we give to the opinions our peers have of us and how little to our very own!”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.4

I know people at work think I am weird. I’m sure people I don’t know make fun of me for being a 50 year old man with long hair. I also don’t dress like your average office worker. These things don’t enter into my thinking when I make decisions about my life or what I think is important. If I tried to impress others, they would probably see through this and then they would still think I was weird and not worthy of respect.

 

May 27

“Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.”
—ZENO, QUOTED IN DIOGENES LAERTIUS, LIVES OF THE EMINENT PHILOSOPHERS, 7.1.26

Small choices add up to a big change. If I sleep enough, it makes it easier to get up and either run or go to the gym. If I workout in the morning, that encourages me to eat healthy through the day and drink enough water so going to the gym after work is easier. If I’ve done all my planned workouts for the day, it is easier to sleep on time and set myself up for another day.

 

Music this week is The Dead South, I know I’ve put them up before, but my wife and I saw them in Richmond Tuesday night. We were front row in front of the banjo player, with my wife at the fence and I was directly behind her holding the fence on either side of her. If you like their music and have the opportunity, they put on a hell of a show. The opening act, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, really brought the energy as well.

Ways and Means

The Dead South started with Diamond Ring.

They finished with my favorite song, Banjo Odyssey

Good Times.