86000 Plus 400 and no more.  What to do with now ?  Playing. Reading. Calm.  Throwing. Catching. Talking. Nice.  Sitting. Feasting. Done.  Daily Stoic: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It’s All Small Stuff .  I need to read it.  And I need to reread How to Live on Twenty-four Hours a Day , a favorite I try to revisit every year.  86400 seconds. My daily allotment. Every one I spend on unimportant things is time taken from the things which make a difference: a difference in my life; in the lives of my family; in the life of my community.  Time to make better choices.  Today's Meditation: Daily Shakespeare: Richard III, Act 5, Scene 4 Today's Poem: Leaves of Grass, Great are the Myths, 1, cont.  From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter LXXVII: Suicide. We discussed this yesterday.   In our society, we regard it as an (almost) unmitigated evil.  Even in ancient times, most people looked at it as ...

Tough jobs should not scare.  Time will attend to all things.  Growth in mindfulness.  Daily Stoic: I'm fairly good about not worrying too much. Then again, my life is pretty damned good right now so I don't usually have much to worry about.  Workwise, I have lots of things going on, but only one important project at the moment. I do fret about that one, but it has more of a "procrastinate and hope I can pull it off in the eleventh hour" tone to it than an "oh god oh god I'm doomed I'm gonna lose my job and everyone will hate me" flavor. Still, I am sometimes uneasy about things.  In recent months, it's shifted for the better though: I think more about my behavior than potential futures.  Am I being a good person? Am I appreciating my life? Am I taking advantage of chances to be a good father and husband, friend and son?  These, I think, as they are both productive and focused on the here and now, are a kind of concern Marcus would ap...

Practicing inner  Silence in café, a test  Of concentration....  Ba dum ba dum dum Warbling melodies [enchant/distract] Philosophe training.  Daily Stoic: Antagonizing people is almost never the right approach. As the adage goes, "If I'm wrong, don't belittle me. Educate me."  How often do I let my emotions get the best of me? Forcing me into awkward, ineffectual, or even dangerous situations?  More often than I like to think, much less admit.  How often have I gone out of my way to seem different, to conspicuously dress / speak / act in ways incompatible with being a social animal? Well, not as much as in my youth, but I may still tweak someone or do something unexpected on occasion just to see the reaction.  If I can better follow Marcus' advice, and concern myself with my internal states rather than adjusting my outward state to somehow alienate others, I'll find, among other things, that my life is more peaceful. This will allow m...

To think many things, Too many thoughts to avoid. Two paths to choose from. Daily Stoic: Avoid unnecessary acts.  Good advice for me. Sometimes, most of the time, I talk too much and listen too little. If I stopped to reflect, as Marcus suggests, on whether or not my comments are worth saying, are they useful to what is happening or to achieve my goals, I would keep my mouth closed, more often than not.  I've done this on occasion in the past and would benefit from doing it more.   Herding my mind into leaving behind useless thoughts, however, is a much more daunting task.  The problem is that I have intrusive thoughts :  <<. . . an unwelcome, involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate.>>   They are most prevalent at night as I try to fall asleep. I fight against them when they arise.  Sometimes I can shut them down simply...

Learning is constant. Snaring knowledge from aether As best as I can. Daily Stoic: If it doesn't affect my reasoned choice, my living in accordance with Nature, or my virtue (all the same thing), then it does not truly affect me. That's my goal.  My only goal.  If I achieve that, I can be free.  I can learn to stop worrying and love my life.  I can appreciate each day, admire all beauty, revel in every moment I get to spend with my wife and my children and my family and my friends. This is what makes a good life.  This is my goal. Today's Meditation: From  V. Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants  by  C. K. Chesterton From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter LXIII: This letter is a short treatise on loss and grief.  (Seneca will have more to say on these topics in other letters, e.g. in letter XCIX .) This is basic Stoic teaching: emotions happen, we cannot prevent that.  We can, however, control ourselves and limit our emotions ...

Liable.  Obliged. My responsibility. My duty.  My life. Daily Stoic: Nothing is harmful if it does not harm my virtue. Nothing is shameful if it does not debase my virtue. If my virtue remains intact, all else may fall. My reaction makes things bad or good.  My thoughts make things good or bad. If I control my thoughts about things, I control their import. No one can take credit but me. No one is to blame but me. I am the arbiter of my mental and spiritual states. Today's Meditation: #BeKind From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter LVI: Seneca begins with a rambling discussion of concentration. He contrasts those who must have silence in order to think and those who can focus regardless of the noise around them.  As he writes, he is practicing this discipline at a public bathhouse. Only a mind governed by reason, reason bolstered through the practice of philosophy he tells us, can offer surcease of sorrow even when the body is at rest. When restlessnes...

Some days, thoughts are lean. Uneven thinking happens When the mind muddles.  Daily Stoic: The obstacle is the way.  If I live in accordance with nature, and allow my reason to guide my actions, I can adapt to circumstances as they develop. Adapt and overcome.  Today's Meditation: From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter LV: This short letter spends a lot of time mocking a rich man who didn't accomplish much in life, but was famous for his life in retirement.  The first point of import is that only philosophy offers knowledge of how to live.  Seneca end his message with an exhortation for Lucilius to think of friendship as a continual connection, even when the friends are separated by distance or time.

Morning reflection  Builds lifetime advantages.  Consistency thrives.  Daily Stoic: Seneca is kindly offering a defined goal here.  But how do I know what good judgment is? How can I know if I'm making the right choice? Are my actions worthy through intent or consequence?  The Stoics reply that results are more important.  Should I be on the side of the angels, yet act in such a way as to cause harm to others, to society, or to my virtue, my goal has nothing to do with it.  If I cause harm, I am mistaken.  Though I mean well, if I cause harm, I must accept the consequences and make it right. Discernment and foresight are crucial for me to work on.  And consistency.  Good people practice good judgment as an inviolate rule; I cannot be virtuous in pieces.  Meditation: Seneca, On a Happy Life (De Vita Beata), opening lines Daily Shakespeare: Macbeth | Act 5 Scene 6 From  Letters from a Stoic ...

Time to trip the lights,  Fantastical creatures lurk.  Adventure awaits!  Daily Stoic: I talked about this letter a while ago.  Though not a trick to be used to amuse the masses, philosophy is, for me at least, fun as hell.  I love it. It has done so much for me in my life to make it better. I am a different person today than I would have been had I not studied philosophy for.... Geez. Has it really been that many years?  And I am a different person today than I was just nine months ago when I began this blog: happier, kinder, more helpful and accepting of others, more appreciative of my spouse and children, more capable of withstanding hardships, setbacks, and disappointments,  See also, below....  Today's Meditation: Google voluntaryism . Google the non-aggression principle .  Daily Shakespeare: Macbeth | Act 2 Scene 1 From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter LIII: In this long letter, Se...

Celebration time! Lights fantastic trip themselves To honor my love. Daily Stoic: Ain't that the truth? How many times have I failed to try something because I invented an irrational fear about it? Maybe I thought I would fail when experience should have told me that chances were good that I could.  Maybe I was afraid of the outcome when a more rational approach would have shown me that chances were good my worst-case-scenario would never happen.  Or maybe I was anxious about what others would think of me when chances were good that they don't think of me at all and, if they do, I should not care for oh so many reasons . It's a hard habit to break, but I must make the effort.  I am wasting too much potential and losing too many opportunities to keep going this way. Today's Meditation: From  Letters from a Stoic  by Seneca, Letter XLVIII: Longer and deeper than most of the letters so far, XLVIII is wondermaking. It is a discussion of friendship and of the ...