210204 What I learned in my studies this morning

Today's Tao:

Therefore the wise are sharp but not cutting,

Pointed but not piercing, 

Straightforward but not unrestrained, 

Brilliant but not blinding.

From The Daily Stoic: 

Nothing can upset me that I don't let upset me. I can choose to act and be calm or to react and allow emotions to get the better of me. 

Ryan's example for today's meditation is particularly apt. Think of someone facing a tough interview or press conference. 

A true professional masters themself so as to always focus on the point the mean to communicate. They deliberately do not let the reporter goad them into saying something they don't want to say. They choose to sublimate their feelings to their rational will, remaining collected and focused regardless of the ways in which the interviewer provokes them. 

Be that veteran of conversational battle. Make the choice to be calm, cool, and collected when emotions might otherwise derail your plans.  

 

“Who then is invincible? The one who cannot be upset by anything outside their reasoned choice.”—Epictetus, Discourses, 1.18.21

From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents:

Leadership 

Blind obedience to the Movement is founded upon the lack of self-confidence and personal agency of the members. This defect becomes the source of the Movement's violence. 

Violent acts are committed by direction of the Movement, partly to destabilize the present and prepare for the Glorious Future, but also to reinforce the unity of the members, driving their subservience into ever deeper levels of their psyche. 

The total surrender of a distinct self is a prerequisite for the attainment of both unity and self-sacrifice; and there is probably no more direct way of realizing this surrender than by inculcating and extolling the habit of blind obedience.

... 

All mass movements rank obedience with the highest virtues and put it on a level with faith.

... 

“Not to reason why” is considered by all mass movements the mark of a strong and generous spirit.

...

The true believer, no matter how rowdy and violent his acts, is basically an obedient and submissive person.

(The True Believer, XIV-92)