210826 What I learned in my studies this morning

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.

Yeah, the last one is a shocker, right?  When death comes for me or my loved ones, I cannot control. It will happen on its own schedule.  The only thing I can do is make sure I live my life in such a way that if I lose someone unexpectedly, I can know that I have truly treasured my time with them, that I haven't wasted opportunities to visit with them, that I did not take them for granted, and that they knew with certainty before they died that I loved them in no uncertain terms.

It's about focusing on today and what I can do to live a better life now, regardless of how things have gone before.

Today's Meditation:

Today's Meditation II:

Today's Poem:

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Great are the Myths, 5

From Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, Letter LXXXVI:

As this letter begins, Seneca is at a villa in Africa, former home of Scipio Africanus (a Roman general with numerous victories including over Hannibal).  He tells of visiting an altar to / possible burial place of Scipio and relates this about Scipio's final departure from Rome: 

Following this, the Old Stoic takes Romans to task for their softness.  Sitting in Scipio's bath, he notes that it is crude and dim and nothing at all like current Roman baths.  It had no sunlight streaming in all day, no marble floors or walls, not even constantly streaming water or water that can be delivered overly hot.

Ancient (ancient) Romans, those from Scipio's time before Seneca's, lived a simpler life that Seneca finds more appropriate to human excellence.  With fewer niceties and less pampering, those generations were hardier and better able to withstand the physical punishment Nature can deliver.

Makes me wonder what he'd say about today's lifestyle . . . .

The rest of the letter is about planting techniques that aren't worth discussing here.