220329 What I learned in my studies this morning 2

Thirty white horses

On a red hill. First they tramp.

Then stamp, then stand still.*

Daily Stoic:

Who do I wish to impress?

My parents? My wife? My kids, friends, coworkers? Transactional 'friends'? Online and social media 'friends'? Strangers? Strangers on the Internet?

All of them at one time or another.

It's a measure of progress, I suppose, that the last four groups have slipped increasingly into the "don't care" category over the years. (Then again, that could be a function of getting older and giving fewer fucks in general than I used to, rather than any real gains made through conscious effort on my part.)

And another: you. Though I write this mostly as a daily exercise, I can't help (yet? *fingers crossed*) but hope people read my thoughts and like them.

Stupid, I know, but there it is.

All of this, all of it, is wasted effort, wasted time.

Better to be better and have it noticed than to try to create a specific feeling in another's mind. Something mostly definitely "not up to me."

Today's Meditation: