Today's Meditation(s): Stoic Week — Thursday "Me against my brothers. My and my brothers against my cousins. Me, my brothers, and my cousins against the world." - Bedouin saying Humanity's ancient tribal view of the world paints a bleak picture: conflict is all-encompassing; we can only count on close relatives; we must fight or be vanquished. Our job as Stoics is to fix this, to ameliorate the threat until we can call everyone brother and sister through oikeiôsis .  Oikeiôsis   comes from the Greek  oikos , meaning home, household, family. It is the process of expanding our sense of home / family to others until the whole world is subsumed by our care. What can I do, today, to practice  oikeiôsis ? Where are my opportunities to expand my sense of care for others to those in larger circles, beyond what feels natural? How can I be better are loving my fellow humans?

Today's Meditation(s): Stoic Week — Wednesday Justice: Promotes social thriving by fostering fairness and positive relationships Self-control: Enables us to maintain physical health and wellbeing by managing our impulses Courage: Supports emotional resilience, particularly in managing anxiety and facing challenges Wisdom: Enhances our understanding of what matters in life, aiding spiritual growth and intellectual development. Stoic Compass  created this helpful chart, organizing and explaining Stoic virtue. It's one of four items on the wall of my office. * Put another way: A lot to remember. Known about it for (four? five?) years now and still can't keep it straight in my head. ===== *  The others are a picture of my wife and I, a quote from William Strunk ("Omit needless words."), and a quote from Hannibal ("We will either find a way or make one.").

Today's Meditation(s): Stoicism Week — Tuesday That's nothing to me. Not as bad as it seemed? And outside my power?  That's nothing to me. That's nothing to me. ============ Amor fati — The battery in my car went kaput this evening.  I had to wait for my dear wife to drive out to us, pick us up and head to the store, then return to replace the battery in the dead car. Fun. BUT I did get to spend an extra hour or so hanging out and talking to my son. And showing him by example that dealing with setbacks can be pleasant and rewarding.

Today's Meditation(s): Tao Te Ching , 43, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English Do. Do not do. Done. Stoic Week — Monday

Today's Meditation(s): Tao Te Ching , 42, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English Through Tao all things were made, one in being with the ten thousand things. (With apologies for the mangled translation from the original Catholic.) Simplicity leads complexity. If you don't follow the Tao, this causes confusion and placing worth on the wrong things, all the things. Value Tao. Follow Nature. Be satisfied. Be enough. Find contentment, tranquility.

Today's Meditation(s): Tao Te Ching , 41, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English I cannot reasonably expect to live in a world without fools. They exist. They always will. I accept this is a part of Tao. Without it, it would not be Tao.

Today's Meditation(s): Tao Te Ching , 40, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English Something from nothing. Moving until I am back at the start. Giving way to stay put.

Today's Meditation(s): Tao Te Ching , 39, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English Be silent. Be still. Be empty. Be shadowed. Things will happen anyway. According to Tao. Practice silence. Practice stillness. Practice emptiness. Practice obscurity. Things will happen anyway. According to Tao. Stay silent. Stay still. Stay empty. Stay shadowed. Things will happen anyway. According to Tao.

Today's Meditation(s): Tao Te Ching , 38, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English Ritual substitutes for justice. Follow the rules . Justice replaces kindness. Obey the laws . Kindness stands in for goodness. Be nice . Goodness supplants Tao. Be moral . Tao alone is enough in itself.