210613 What I learned in my studies this morning

Sometimes humans do. 

Nature forms people that way. 

It's part of it all. 

Daily Stoic: 

I have an important duty to perform: living my life well. It is a duty I choose freely and for which I train daily.  It was not always this way.

I must prepare myself, mentally, physically, and psychically to endure whatever life throws at me.  I must have the courage to face hard choices.  The perseverance to continue even when the going gets tough.  The knowledge and insight to act properly when the time comes.  The selflessness to consider how my actions affect others.  The discipline to hold to my values despite personal cost.

This is why I study.

Today's Meditation:

From A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy

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

Chapter 17: Old Age — On Being Banished to a Nursing Home

When we are young, we are invincible.  We have all the time in the world. We hold al potential in the palm of our hands.  Everything is going to be ours for the taking.

As we grow older, we begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, this is not true.

At the very least, our bodies being to slow and ache and generally break down from our physical peak in earlier years.  For many of us, assuming we are blessed so as to live long enough, we may find that our mental faculties are also declining with age.  We can no longer do some of the routine mental gymnastics we could when younger or we can't remember things as well as we once could.

As these problems mount, we may find ourselves living in a nursing home.  If this happens, so be it. Practice your virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.