210823 What I learned in my studies this morning

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:"

1. Fear of Dying
2. Physical Suffering
3. Interruption of Pleasures

Seneca has explained #1 at length.  Of the second, physical pain, he argues that we have been blessed with a body which mitigates the worst of such torments.

If you are a student of philosophy, your focus will naturally have been on the spirit rather than the body.  This is why the "morally unenlightened" are so upset by pain and discomfort: they know only the body and have nothing else to turn to when it is in pain.

On losing access to favorite foods, Seneca briefly brings up fasting (whether voluntary or forced by nausea) and notes that, after an initial period of longing, the body itself will release its desire and adapt to the lack of food.

There is too much remaining in this letter to give it full attention in a single post.  I will continue my examination of its themes tomorrow.