210518 What I learned in my studies this morning

Tweet. Tweettweettweet. Tweeeeeet. 

Sing the song of your people. 

It's happening now. 

From The Daily Stoic: 

What am I doing now? When I'm lost in thought over some future plans or some forgotten-by-all error from years ago? 

I'm missing my daughter's pride in an accomplishment. Or my son's need in a moment of doubt. Or my job to accomplish a task by a deadline. 

What is taking up my mental and spiritual energy that I could be putting into what's right in front of me? 

Today's Meditation:

From A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine 

Chapter 8: Meditation — Watching Ourselves Practice Stoicism

This is a place where people sometimes confuse Stoicism and stoicism.

stoicism is a misunderstanding, an "if I pretend not to have emotions then I'm never hurt" bastardization of the original thoughts. 

Stoicism, on the other hand, is a way to produce satisfaction and joy in your life. By understanding the causes of our emotions, and how they affect us, we can learn to reduce negative reactions and emphasize positive acts.

If I remind myself, for example, that I am going to meet with fools and bores, the ignorant and the mean, today, I am better able to act evenly and honorably when I inevitably come across them. If I forgo this mental morning exercise, that guy's jerky behavior may cause me to do any number of foolish things, from the comparatively minor offense of losing my cool in an unimportant and temporary situation to a major mistake such as faltering during negotiations because I overreacted to a deliberate ploy trying to put me off my game. 

(NB: remember that false praise is also a trick others can use, lending us unwarranted self-satisfaction and overconfidence. Acting wisely in response to seemingly positive actions is also a virtue.)

Learning to act instead of react is one of the greatest gifts of Stoicism. It begins with contemplating our esteem of how others treat us.