Let me see my sins.  Count. Regret. Remember. Use.  Let them be my tools.  Daily Stoic: This is one of the easiest of Stoic instructions for me to practice. If only because I have so many failings to choose from.  Was I tired? Hungry? Upset? Preoccupied? Unlucky? Whatever the reason, there have been millions of times when I've done something wrong, but not on purpose. Some accident or lack of forethought on my part paved the way for me to screw up somehow.  The harder part is to remember to allow the same possibility to everyone else when they do something wrong and I am on the receiving end.  I've gotten better about not ascribing malice to others, but I still usually suffer the brief-but-immediate flash of "you jerk!" before reaching the better assumption.  Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Arthur Schopenhauer, Aphorisms, On Ethics Today's Poem: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, I Sing the Body Electric

House work a blessing? Home again, jigity jig. Working remote rocks. Daily Stoic: I don't usually mind doing chores.  A garbage bag here, a dishwasher load there . . . not a big deal.   Then there are the times when I'm just not feeling it or it's a more odious task. When these come up, I either table the task for later (assuming it can  be put off) or give myself a few minutes break to refocus and make sure I do it right. Well, at least, ideally  that's what I do. How many times have I forced myself to continue even though my heart and mind weren't in it?  Or done a half-assed job that suffices, but just barely makes muster?  Or done it so poorly that I end up wasting more  time later undoing what I did and redoing it the right way?  Ryan Holiday has some good questions to help avoid these outcomes:  "Why am I doing this?  If it is really a necessity, ask yourself: What's behind my reluctance? Fear? Spite? Fatigue?" Keeping these questions in mind w

Trip to the 80s,  Childhood in an evening,  HI-fidelity.  Daily Stoic: If I have a quarter in my pocket, and everything I need, I am truly rich.  If I want to be Croesus by the end of the day, I have two options....  Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Poem: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, I Sing the Body Electric From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca,  Letter LXXXVIII , Part 1: Today we'll go through the first part of this lengthy letter. Seneca doesn't tread lightly here. He doesn't care to spare the sensitivities of anyone who might practice, or, failing that, at least  value , other pursuits.  He flat out says they are not worth the time for adults. They are useful only in so far as they prepare people for love of Wisdom. Spending a bit discussing Homer and Hesiod and other literary giants, and the value of questions about their works such as "How old are Achilles and Patroclus?&q

What is worth my time? What needs, rather than demands? Family. Self. Friends.  Daily Stoic: Living well is not a sin. Owning things is not evil. Things owing me is evil.  So long as I am ready to lose it, it does not control me.  There's a game I've played for about four years now. I got in within a month of its launch and have done very well at it. Probably a top 2000 player worldwide. Been in a top 25 (often top 15) group for a long, long time. I've put thousands of hours into building my in-game situation. I have it well tuned and can usually do my daily activities in less than about 15 minutes when a newbie would take an hour and even a vet would take 30-40 minutes. I'm top tier in this game.  Today I gave it away. I gave the account to another player to control. We've set it up as a "take a few months off" type of thing, but I already feel more free.  I fully expect that in a week or so, I'll contact them and tell them just to keep it

Short on time, busy day. Crafting words to make them sing. Creativity. ---------------- Evening morning post Night falls near on our hero!  Just in time! Vict'ry!  Daily Stoic: I choose to be happy. Is it that easy?  I don't think that's what Seneca is saying here.  Maybe he is saying that I can (usually) consciously bend my attitude to happier or sadder tendencies. It's not a switch so much as a nudge, a change in sail that directs me more one way than another. Only a Perfect Stoic Sage could make it come out his way every time, but I should do what I can.  Today's Meditation: Today's Poem:

Clouds reflect light, thoughts Brighten skies and eyes and soul. Bad luck can be good. Daily Stoic: Zeno of Citium began Stoic philosophy after he lost his cargo in a shipwreck.  After being stranded in Athens, he was exposed to the philosophy of Socrates and Crates of Thebes (a Cynic) .  From these beginnings, he developed the foundation of Stoic philosophy. Even in what seems like the most dire of circumstances, the hardest of hardships, I can find the good in the situation if I look wisely enough. Lost my job?  Good.  I can challenge myself and see what I am capable of.  Or maybe I can start that business I've thought about. Lost a competition?  Good.  I can learn from this defeat how to do better next time and recommit to my training. Lost a loved one?  Good.  I can fondly remember them and share them with others.  And I can use this shock to refocus on those still with me, living a life that demonstrates how much I love them and how much they mean to me each and every day.

Contentment. Stillness. Worlds of mystery delight Senses tuned to them. Daily Stoic: Contrary to popular opinion, traditions are important.  They are time-tested, known ways of dealing with an issue.  Before we discard a tradition, it's important to know what problem it addresses, what effects will happen if it is removed, and what we plan to do to remedy those problems when they arise again now that the tradition has been scuttled.   That said, if I find a way better way, and the benefits of the new way outweigh the difficulty of throwing away the old way, then make way . . . the new way is here to stay.  No way?!?!  Way!!! Like yesterday , Seneca is instructing us to look everywhere for wisdom and to find what works.  Limiting myself to one tradition or source is a fool's errand. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Poem: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Great are the Myths, 4 Daily Shakespeare: Othello, Act 1 Scene 3 From  Letters from a Stoic  by Sen

Thoughts of those days past, Of quotes and pain and pleasure. Great are the myths. Daily Stoic: Seneca quotes extensively from Epicurus in his letters.  But but but . . . Epicurus wasn't a Stoic!  How can he do such a thing? Easy: Seneca knew that wisdom is where you find it, source be damned. If someone told me that The Bad Guy from The Other Side™ (Trump, Clinton, Bush, Obama . . . whoever fits that category) once said " The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts ." should I treat it as false because of who (I think) said it? If Hitler said " Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. " is it suddenly untrue? Wisdom is where I find it.  That's why My Morning Studies uses selections from many different books on many different subjects. I would be foolish indeed if I left wise words behind because I disliked their source. Today's Meditation: Today's Poem: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Great ar

Time time time, see what's Become of me.  When I'm all Poured out spilling down. Daily Stoic: Not a lot to add here.  It's not about whether the action itself is bad (i.e. if you judge action ABC to be a  sin ), but rather how the action will create problems (soon) that outweigh any temporary, pleasant effects. Generalizing, if I am tempted to do something foolhardy, I should visualize the negative ramifications before I commit to it.  Good advice, if not specifically Stoic. Today's Meditation: Today's Poem: Walt Whitman,  Leaves of Grass, Great are the Myths, verse 2, selection  From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter LXXVIII, part 1: In keeping with his recent theme, Seneca begins this letter discussing suicide.  Specifically, he tells Lucilius about a time when he considered it but, upon thinking it through, decided against it.  Lucky for us. Moving on, the Old Stoic discusses "the three upsetting things about any illness:" Fear of Dying Physical