The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the art of living a good life. Day 44 November 25th - Funny How That Works Out "As for me, I would choose being sick over living in luxury, for being sick only harms the body, whereas luxury destroys both the body and the soul, causing weakness and incapacity in the body and lack of control and cowardice in the soul. What's more, luxury breeds injustice because it also breeds greediness." -Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 20.95.14-17 From the Author: "Stories about lottery winners tend to share one lesson: suddenly coming into a great deal of money is a curse, not a blessing. Just a few years after they get that big check, many lottery winners are actually in worse financial shape. They've lost friends, they've gotten divorced. Their whole lives have been turned into a nightmare as a result of their obscenely good fortune. --- And yet the most common response from a cancer survivor, the person who went through the thing we all dread and fear? 'It was the best thing that ever happened to me.' Funny how it works out, isn't it?" Hardship has the benefit, if you successfully navigate through, of teaching you things that the easy way would not have. The earning of money, through purpose and action has a profound effect on a person, as opposed to having a fortune thrown at them. Though a lot of people may initially be excited for their riches, to go shopping, go on holidays, buy gifts for others... and then what? Do you think many people would want to go back to work after making millions? A little related story of a dream I had a year or more back, which I recounted to Hats last night, was that I had had a dream, and woken up after feeling totally awful, because the dream was that I woke up (in the dream) to having a fortune of several billion dollars worth of bitcoin overnight. The idea that there was not going to be struggle, or at least work that needed to be done for my benefit really did not sit well with me. I feel like we, like our physical bodies, need resistance here and there to grow, and to have a feeling of satisfaction for enduring extended resistance. But not needing to have a purpose because you neutered your drive by gaining a fortune removes a great deal of resistance, but then it may be found more in the people in your lives, such as a spouse or friends.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 43 November 24th - Train to let go of What's not Yours "Whenever you experience the pangs of losing someone, don't treat it like a part of yourself but as a breakable glass, so when it falls you will remember that and won't be troubled. So too, whenever you kiss your child, siblings, or friend, don't layer on top of the experience all the things you might wish, but hold them back and stop them, just as those who ride behind triumphant generals remind them they are mortal. In the same way, remind yourself that your precious one isn't one of your possessions, but something given for now, not forever..." -Epictetus, Discourses, 3.24.84-86a From the Author: "At a Roman triumph, the majority of the public would have their eyes glued to the victorious general at the front - one of the most coveted spots during Roman times. Only a few would notice the aide in the back, right behind the commander, whispering into his ear, 'Remember, thou art mortal.' What a reminder to hear at the peak of glory and victory! In our own lives, we can train to be that whisper. When there is something we prize - or someone that we love - we can whisper to ourselves that it is fragile, mortal and not truly ours." The theme of the whole of November is "Acceptance / amor fati", so it makes sense that a lot of the entries have very similar themes, and this one is no different in a sense. It ties in the last two posts; 'The Glass is already Broken' and 'Attachments are the Enemy". All three have to do with holding onto something that is not truly yours. The glass can break, you have no control over that potential fate of it, or the lamp can be stolen. Attachments can be destroyed, if for a person - they could act or say a certain thing - and that attachment is gone. We, our attachments and our belongings are fragile, mortal and not truly ours. We cannot hold anything without reasoned choice, or we may come to a cross of confliction. You must then make that reasoned choice.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 42 November 23rd - Attachment are the Enemy "In short, you must remember this - that if you hold anything dear outside of your own reasoned choice, you will have destroyed your capacity for choice." -Epictetus, Discourses, 4.4.23 From the Author: "According to Anthony De Mello, 'there is one thing and only one thing that causes unhappiness. The name of that thing is attachment.' Attachments to an image you have of a person, attachments to wealth and status, attachments to a certain place or time, attachments to a job or to a lifestyle. All of those things are dangerous for one reason: they are outside of our reasoned choice. How long we keep them is not in our control." The Author goes on to talk about Epictetus having realised this some two thousand years earlier, and that once we have them we don't want to let them go; 'we become slaves to maintaining the status quo.' We have one thing in our control, that is 'prohairesis'; our capacity for reasoned choice. We cannot keep the attachments to things, unless we are willing to accept that the object of attachment, whether physical or conscious, is already broken. As was talked about in the last post. Neither the Author, nor Epictetus talk about this, but I think it is apt to combine the two. The Zen Master in the last post had an attachment to his cup. Epictetus had an attachment to a lamp. But only once we accept these attachments are not forever, nor are they anything but a certain projection of our own wants to an object or situation, can we demonstrate reasoned choice.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 41 November 22nd - The Glass is Already Broken. "Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she's unexpected. The one always on the lookout easily endures." -Seneca, On Consolation to Helvia, 5.3 From the Author: "There is a story of a Zen master who had a beautiful prized cup. The master would repeat to himself, 'The glass is already broken.' He enjoyed the cup. He used it. He showed it off to visitors. But in his mind, it was already broken. And so one day, when it actually did break, he simply said, 'Of course.' This is how Stoics think too. There is supposedly a true story about Epictetus and a lamp. He never locked his house, and so his expensive lamp was stolen. When Epictetus replaced it, he replaced it with a cheaper one so he could be less attached to it if it were stolen again. Devastation - that feeling that we're absolutely crused and shocked by an event - is a factor of how unlikely we considered that event in the first place. No one is 'wrecked' by the fact that it's snowing in the winter, because we've accepted (and even anticipated) this turn of events. What about the occurances that surprise us? We might not be so shocked if we took the time to consider their possibility" Over the years I've had my car in the driveway, for several months at a time, left unlocked regularly over night or when I'm not at the house. It, nor it's contents, were ever stolen. I've had my car broken into on two occasions, though. Both when the car was locked, though not in my driveway. I feel like theres a point there of not having a fear, worry, or expectation for an event of this type to occur - to have something stolen or broken - if you can let go of attachment, or fear of losing the thing you're attached to. I'm not saying the act of locking your house or car puts into the universe a frequency of "oh I hope no one breaks a window and steals my stuff", more that theres a feeling of surrender, and acceptance that something may already be broken or stolen. I put out an frequency of safety, security for my person and belongings, and free passage for my movements and words. I believe that only good things happen. But I accept that I own nothing that I cannot defend, and that if something is broken or lost, I can repair or replace it, depending on the significance of the object.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 40 November 21st - Once Is Enough. Once Is Forever "A good isn't increased by the addition of time, but if one is wise for even a moment, they will be no less happy than the person who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in it." -Chrysippus quoted by Plutarch in Moralia: "Against the Stoics on Common Conceptions," 1062 (Loeb, p. 682) From the Author: "Perhaps wisdom and happiness are like winning a medal in the Olympics. It doesn't matter whether you won a hundred years ago or ten minutes ago, or whether you won just once or in multiple events. It doesn't matter whether someone beats you time or score down the road, and it doesn't matter whether you never compete again. You'll always be a medalist, and you'll always know what it feels like. No one can take that away - and it would be impossible to feel more of that feeling. The Juilliard-trained actor Evan Handler, who not only survived acute myeloid leukemia but also severe depression, has talked about his decision to take antidepressants, which he did for a deliberately brief time. He took them because he wanted to know what true, normal happiness felt like. Once he did, he knew he would stop. He could go back to the struggle like everyone else. He had the ideal for a moment and that was enough. Perhaps today will be the day when we experience happiness or wisdom. Don't try to grab that moment and hold on to it with all your might. It's not under your control how long it lasts. Enjoy it, recognize it, remember it. Having it for a moment is the same as having it forever." It's never a good idea to hold on too tightly to anything, I believe. Holding on to something, someone, some fortune, or some other good thing has a feeling of lack to it. You hold on so tight because you experience it rarely. You fear losing it, and so your mindset is stuck in a state of lack, of fear of losing, of fear of not feeling the good feelings again. You must think abundance, and of course, gratitude. But you let the good times roll, and roll on. You wave goodbye as the good things vanishes into the distance, and before you know it, it's back at your heels. “If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.” - Kahlil Gibran But it's also important to experience and come to peace with the bad times. Let them too roll. Wish them on their merry way, with gratitude for lessons learned. Think in terms of tides. Of pendulums. Learn to sway with, do not be out of frequency, and find more greatness in the great, and more stability of self in the not so great.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 39 November 20th - Behold, Now as Ever "If you've seen the present, you've seen all things, from time immemorial into all of eternity. For everything that happens is related and the same." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.3-7 From the Author: "The events that will transpire today are the same as the things that have always occured. People living and dying, animals living and dying, clouds rolling in and rolling out, air sucked in and sucked out, a quotation from the moments that have come before and will come ever after. This idea is expressed nowhere more beautifully than in the Christianity hymn 'Gloria Patri'. 'As it was in the beginning, and now, and always, and to the ages of ages." This thought is not supposed to be depressing or uplifting. It's just a fact. However, it can have a calming, centering effect. No need to get excited, no need to wait on pins and needles. If you haven't seen this before, someone else has. That can be a relief." In the greatest, most macro of scales, everything can be summed up in "birth, life, death". This is an endless cycle, and nothing changes. As we focus down the scales, we begin to see things that have also always happened. Love, unity, hate, war. Endless cycles for as long as earth has existed. Zoom in a bit closer, and we start to see successes and failures, small and large, of people, revolutions lead by some. But again it's not new. Small trials and tribulations for every day people, businesses opening and closing, partners loved and lost, animals cherished and grieved. It's all happened before, and will always happen. The trees and grass grow, the animals and men cut them down to cycle them into food and habitation. As always. We have the internal knowledge, or esoteric connection, to everything that has happened, and throughout history we have always prevailed. Someone has beaten the odds while working through the very thing you may be going through now. You've seen this before, you know how to resolve it.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 38 November 19th - Maxims from Three Wise Men "For any challenge we should hold three thoughts at our command: 'Lead on God and Destiny, To that Goal fixed for me long ago. I will follow and not stumble; even if my will is weak I will soldier on.'" -Cleanthes "Whoever embraces necessity count as wise, skilled in divine matters." - Euripides "If it pleases the gods, so be it. They may well kill me, but they can't hurt me." - Epictetus, Enchiridion, 53 From the Author: "These three quotes compiled by Epictetus show us - in wisdom across history - the themes of tolerance, flexibility, and, ultimate, acceptance. Chealthes and Euripides evoke destiny and fate as concepts that help ease acceptance. When one has a belief in a great or higher power (be it God or gods), then there is no such thing as an event going contrary to plan. Let's practice this perspective today. Pretend that each event - whether desired or unexpected - was will to happen, willed specifically for you. You wouldn't fight that, would you?" This makes me think of the meme of the downtrodden man saying "Jesus, why do you give me your hardest battles", and Jesus is replying "because you are my strongest soldier" or something silly. We find ourselves in situations that feel like uphill battles, and some may feel constant and never ending. But these events are lessons, and maybe if you push too hard against them, you find you lose more and more traction, slip further into what you perceive as near ruin. When this happens it's time to reassess. In some cases it's not meant for you, or not the right timing, and theres another opportunity to grasp hold of. Someone very close to me has been working hard to build a business over the last few years, and while things look amazing, his work is fantastic, his business has not yet reached a point where he feels like his hard work has paid off. He's had wins, here and there, but ultimately feels like he's pushing through the deepest of depths. He expressed to me he was going to close the business down, and I told him not to worry if it comes to this, as it may release the pressure and allow things to flow, and for something to come along. Within three days of beginning to shut things down, someone reached out to him to collaborate, and it flipped things around in a positive way for him immediately. Through all this pushing and struggle, he's also found a much higher calling, something he really wants to do. The original business, afterall, was not his passion. But he was able to let go, and dig deep, and that lightbulb moment occured and he has his mission. It's still a process, but this was his fate. To learn the hardships, the struggles, the dispair, so he can truly experience the goodness, happiness and fruits of his labour. We talk a lot about this period of his life, and he often wonders why there are so many setbacks, what is this telling him, how can he succeed. And we came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. You keep going, maybe not pushing, but you just keep allowing opportunities to come, try to make something worthwhile, but never accept defeat or failure.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 37 November 18th - Four Habits of the Stoic Mind "Our rational nature moves freely forward in its impressions when it: 1) accepts nothing false or uncertain; 2) directs its impulses only to acts for the common good; 3) limits its desires and aversions only to what's in its own power; 4) embraces everything nature assigns it." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.7 From the Author: "... let's align our minds along these four critical habits: 1. Accept only what is true. 2. Work for the common good. 3. Match our needs and wants with what is in our control. 4. Embrace what nature has in store for us." Accepting only truth, or nothing uncertain, can be quite difficult without total knowledge, and in this day and age there are many things claimed to be true that are obfuscated, whether intentionally, or through lack of understanding/research. You must use critical thinking, as best you can, to determine if a claim is truth, or bad actors are attempting to lead you astray. With misinformation being talked about by media, govt. officials and orgs, and people on social media, it's pretty clear that there is an agenda on who determines the truth. I think many could agree that those who claim for control over what we are fed as truth have something to hide. But that's not to say everything that is condemned by them /is/ truth. Use critical thinking. Number three and four are very much about not striving for control outside and over that which cannot be in our control. Nature is as does. We can only accept what comes, and must not complain, lest we expend our energy complaining instead of using the momentum to steer in a direction that works for us, within our wants, needs, and abilities.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 36 November 17th - Judge Not, Lest... "When philosophy is wielded with arrogance and stubbornly, it is the cause for the ruin of many. Let philosophy scrape off your own faults, rather than be a way to rail against the faults of others." -Seneca, Moral Letters, 103.4b-5a From the Author: "Remember, the proper direction of philosophy - of all things we're doing here - is focused inward. To make ourselves better and to leave other people to that task for themselves and their own journey. Our faults are in our control, and so we turn to philosophy to help scrape them off like barnacles from the hull of a ship. Other people's faults? Not so much. That's for them to do. Leave other people to their faults. Nothing in Stoic philosophy empowers you to judge them - only to accept them. Especially when we have so many of our own." First is to acknowledge we have faults, then is to explore the breadth and depth of them, then to recognise how they affect your and those around you. If we can do these things through questioning ourselves, even to dark places, and giving completely honest answers to ourselves, and breaking down that pride that we have of self-perfection, then we can heal, or scrape the barnacles off. One of the biggest faults that many may have is hypocrisy; holding others to standards that we don't hold ourselves to. Whether it's consciously or subconsciously, we will always forgive ourselves before others, if it allows us to absolve ourselves of blame. Which is another fault, along with judgement, that many have, or find themselves falling for. Take responsibility for your journey, but not another's. Have humility and patience while others start what you are already underway on.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 35 November 16th - Hope and Fear are the Same. "Hecato says, 'cease to hope and you will cease to fear.' ... The primary cause of both these ills is that instead of adapting ourselves to present circumstances we send out thoughts too far ahead." -Seneca, Moral Letters, 5.7b-8 From the Author: "Hope is gennerally regarded as good. Fear is generally regarded as bad. To a Stoic like Hecato (known as Hecato of Rhodes), they are the same - both are projections into the future about things we do not control. Both are the enemy of this present moment that you are actually in. Both mean you're living a life in opposition to amor fati. It's not about overcoming fears but understanding that both hope and fear contain a dangerous amount of want and worry in them. And, sadly, the want is what causes the worry." The idea that Hope and Fear are the same is a new one to me. But I'm fascinated how it's a blindspot that I didn't realise I had in a sense. In the last few years I've lowered my time preference, and I've often thought about the future, and hoped it could be something amazing. Rather, I should just be staying in the now, realising that I need to do the work today, so that these things may come into fruition, without hope, but with determination, focus and work. I know, without hope, that my future will be bright. I've always said that to myself. I also have no fears for the future because of this. No hope needed, no fear felt.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 34 November 15th - Everything Is Change "Meditate often on the swiftness with which all that exists and is coming into being is swept by us and carried away. For substance is like a river's unending glow, its activities continually changing and causes infinitely shifting so that almost nothing at all stands still." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.23 From the Author: "Marcus borrows this wonderful metaphor from Heraclitus, who said, 'No man steps in the same river twice.' Because the river has changed, and so has the man. Life is in a constant state of change. And so are we. To get upset by things is to wrongly assume that they will last. To kick ourselves or blame others is grabbing at the wind. To resent change is to wrongly assume that you have a choice in the matter. Everything is change. Embrace that. Flow with it." This one is very similar to November 9th - All is Fluid. But it takes a different look at it. Times where your pursuits go your way, and times when the trials feel against you, will not last. It's better to steel your resolve, ready yourself for impacts, but allow the impacts to come with knowledge that it is change in one way or another. It might offer you solutions, opportunities or rest. Each of these may come in a form that your subjective outlook will determine to be good or bad, easy or difficult, and may sway your energetic rhythm to and fro. But each are a chance for you to learn from, to flow with, and to improve upon, steeling your resolve further, removing subjective from the objective, and see that what ever it is, it just is. Let go of the blame, upset, and resentment of others, events, or change.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 33 November 14th - You Choose the Outcome "He was sent to prison. But the observation 'he has suffered evil,' is an addition coming from you." Epictetus, Discourses, 3.8.5b-6a From the Author: "This is classic stoic thinking, as you've gathered by now. An event itself is objective. How we describe it - that it was unfair, or it's a great calamity, or that they did it on purpose - is on us. Malcolm X (then Malcolm Little) went into prison a criminal, but he left as an educated, religious, and motivated man who would help in the struggle for civil rights. Did he suffer an evil? Or did he choose to make his experience a positive one? Acceptance isn't passive. It's the first step in an active process toward self-improvement." Make the best of every opportunity and you'll see nothing bad happens /to/ you. Only based off our subjective thinking does an objective event take a form whether good or bad. But all events can be spun, some harder than others, to be good, or at least one you can take a positive lesson from. Perspective is also a huge part of this, I believe that if you can put into perspective an event and it's impact upon us, most things are of extremely small impact. You got cut off, you stubbed your toe, You broke a nail, a bird shit on you. All very minor things, less than a day and it'll be gone from your mind. So the event is objective and of little significance, but our subjective frame on the event is how we allow things to affect us. Start to become conscious of all the times you curse under your breath, catch yourself and consider a universal reason for the event, or that it just doesn't matter, and let it go.

I have been listening to this over and over for the last two or so weeks. Incredible set, close your eyes and listen.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 32 November 13th - Never Complain, Never Explain "Don't allow yourself to be heard any longer griping about public life, not even with your own ears!" -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.9 From the Author: "It's so easy to complain about this or that, or to try to make excuses or justifications for the things you've done. But that doesn't accomplish anything - and it never lightens the load." Similarly to worry, complaining accomplishes nothing. Worry puts you through an event twice, and it's better to just take events as they come, and not worry of an outcome. It's better to do your best to deal with any situation on the spot, rather than run around in circles, throwing worst case scenarios into the universe. Rather, let it go, or think of the best case scenario, or how you will tackle the situation. As with complaining, if something isn't working and it emotionally, mentally, physically or spiritually pains you, then do something about it. Whatever is in your power to change, change it. Speak to someone in a logical, results forward way. Find out how to change your situation for the betterment of your life, and hopefully not the detriment of anothers. If that's not possible, and the detriment caused could be too great, attempt to remove yourself. "But why should I?" Why should you remove yourself, and why can't the other person (if it a person who pains you)? Do they know? Are they aware? Or have you just been complaining to others for the sake and satisfaction of having another agree with you? Why should you be the bigger person and take into control what you can and create a more positive flowing life for yourself? Do not even complain in the privacy of your home or mind, as this upsets the mindframe that is required to succeed daily. Do not let the actions of others weigh you down, focus only on what you can achieve, and worry not. No one likes a complainer who has no offerings of solutions. Be the solutions guy. Mind; often we may feel the need to rant, to get something off our chest. Pick the person to open up to carefully, do not burden them, or do not pick someone who will take your burden. Be your own mule, or shed your pack to the winds.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 31 November 12th - The Strong Accept Responsibility "If we judge as good and evil only the things in the power of our own choice, then there is no room left for blaming gods or being hosile to others." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.41 From the Author: "As the president of our own lives - and knowing that our powers begin and end with our reasoned choice - we would do well to internalize this same attitude (Of President Truman - "The Buck Ends Here" - you have no one to blame but yourself, no one to pass the buck to). We don't control things outside that sphere, but we do control our attitudes and our responses to those events - and that's plenty. It's enough that we go into each and every day knowing that there is no one to pass the buck to. It ends with us." I wrote a post on Twitter a year or two ago (I'm not much of a poster, so it was a spur of the moment thought that I needed to get out) in regards to taking responsibility, and that I'm seeing more and more that people of all ages no longer take responsibility for many things in their lives, and rather outsource these things to others. Whether it's authorities, people they see as better equipped than them, for lack of interest or time to find the answers and confidence to take into their own hands their lives. The post was very much centered on health at that stage, and that people will not take responsibility for what they eat, drink, or what they put on their bodies, and blame illness on factors out of their control (there are very few of these I honestly believe), or other people 'making them sick'. They then go to the doctor, who's education consisted of very short period on diet, and possibly nothing on light environment or other energetic aspects. These doctors do not treat root cause most often, and prescribe pills in many cases. This is outsourcing health because one cannot take responsibility. Another is finances. We're seeing through Bitcoin how we can take responsibility in a greater way of our finances, but I fear that self custody is going to be an uphill battle, since people seemingly don't understand the importance of taking responsibility. I think a fear of many is that if they fuck something up for themselves, they can't claim miscommunication, mistreatment, or misallocation and absolve themselves of the mistake. It takes real courage to admit mistakes, to learn and grow from them. It takes humility, too, to face up and tell someone you were wrong. But when it comes to your own self, humility is admitting you don't know, and finding answers for yourself, testing and verifying things (such as a carnivore diet for health), and courage is taking the steps to take control of your life and removing those safety nets that don't help, but rather hinder and reduce the freedom and quality of life you may have.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 30 November 11th - It's Not The Thing, It's What We Make Of It "When you are distressed by an external thing, it's not the thing itself that troubles you, but only your judgement of it. And you can wipe this out at a moments notice." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.47 Excerpts from Author: "Franklin Delano Roosevelt, now widely regarded as one of America's greatest political leaders was, in middle age, diagnosed with polio after spending years preparing for and dreaming about the presidency. It's impossible to understand FDR without understanding this disability. The "external thing" was that he was crippled - this was a literal fact - but his judgement of it was that it did not cripple his career or his personhood. Though he was certainly the victim of a then incurable disease, he wiped away - almost immediately - the victim's mentality. Let's not confuse acceptance with passivity." I've talked about external factors, and most people describe them as 'happening to them'. In this case I would admit polio happened upon FDR, but most things that can be described as negative, which may be allowed to affect ones outlook on life, or to sully their day, doesn't 'happen to them'. It happens, and we take it on board, and allow it to affect us, rather than let it be an outside factor that does not have to sour us. Things happen, and our opinion of it is all that we can control, it's all that we have. Why would you bemoan, constantly, things that feel like setbacks, incidents that cost or waste time, when we could rather use our energy to strive onwards, look at the bigger picture, see it for a tiny blip that likely won't matter in a day, month, 5 years. Tying this into another aspect of the universe - 'where thoughts go, energy flows.' What you focus on, you attract, and over-thinking, worrying, or complaining about certain things that are happening doesn't make your situation any better - you may just appear as a victim - and in many cases, worrying is just putting yourself though an impending horrible situation twice. Why would you do that to yourself? I had a housemate who would get very serious when I described myself or someone else as "Happy-go-lucky", because it's such a rare attribute to a person, and that it's not a term to 'throw around' as it were. But I really think that people who can differentiate themselves from the things happening, and focusing on the silver lining, or considering everything to be a real gift for growth, to be exactly this kind of person. I even consider myself to be somewhat happy-go-lucky. Many things tend to work out for me, theres no resistance, opportunities pop up and sometimes I'm wise enough to recognise them.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 29 November 10th - Always the Same "Think by way of example on the times of Vespasian, and you'll see all these things: marrying, raising children, falling ill, dying, wars, holiday feasts, commerce, farming, flattering, pretending, suspecting, scheming, praying that others die, grumbling over one's lot, falling in love, amassing fortunes, lusting after office and power. Now that life of their is dead and gone ... the times of Trajan, again the same..." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.32 From the Author: "Ernest Hemingway opens his book 'The Sun Also Rises' with a Bible vers: 'One generation passeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever. the sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and resth to the place where he arose.' One of the striking things about history is just how long human being have been doing what they do. Though certain attitudes and practices have come and gone, what's left are people - living, dying, loving, fighting, crying, laughing. Breathless media reports or popular books often perpetuate the belief that we've reached the apex of humanity, or that this time, things really are different. The irony is that people have believed that for centuries. Strong people resist this notion. They know that with a few exceptions, things are they same as they've always been and always will be. You're just like the people who came before you, and you're but a brief stopover until the people just like you who will come after. The earth abides forever, but we will come and go." The only things that really change are the extremes, and names - or 'spins' - on already existing practices, goods, or attitudes. It may seem like degeneration to many, much of it does to me. Extremes in technology, and commodification of attention spans, may be an exception, but what our ancestors did and what we do are not all that much different. We all want the best for ourselves and those around us, and the ways we go about this - working, producing, creating, caring for, supporting, providing for our loved - aren't new. There's nothing new under the sun. But things are spun like propaganda, once peaceful entities are spun to be enemies, poisons and toxins are spun as foods and medicines, every aspect of our health is outsourced and we're relieved of our self-responsibility, we've lost trust in the institutions that don't trust us with our autonomy - banking, policing, health, and everything becoming more and more extreme in the opposite direction, but it's always been this way, perhaps? A lot of all these things come by the control of our attention spans, because if we weren't distracted by the cavlcade of talking heads, 7 second long videos, and the struggles of food and living security, we'd all probably see that soyslop is not food, pills are not medicine, our money is debased, we're restricted in basically everything in our lives, and have to ask permission if we wish to do anything, and that we're being lied to. But it's always been like that, right? It's just the extremes that these things have been taken to. The best we can do is make the best of the positive "sames" that our ancestors did, and to instill those thoughts and beliefs into our children and hope they can do the same. (And also end the Fed, end the state, end the control structures and take back our sovereignty and autonomy.) Little bit of a rant on this one - thanks for reading.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 28 November 9th - All is Fluid "The universe is change. Life is opinion" -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.3.4b From the Author: "Our understanding of what is something 'is' is just a snapshot - an ephemeral opinion. The universe is in a constant state of change. Our nails grown and are cut and keep growing. New skin replaces dead skin. Old memories are replaced by new memories. Are we still the same people? Are the people around us the same? Nothing is exempt from this fluidity, not even the things we hold most sacred." The author mentions the Ship of Theseus - the Athenian hero - which was preserved by the people of Athens in battle-ready condition for many centuries by replacing rotting boards until every stick of wood had been replaced. Plutarch asks: "Is it still the ship of Theseus, or is it a new one?" The same in Japan, the famous Shinto Shrine is rebuilt every twenty-three years. Is it one 1,400 year old shrine? or sixty consecutive shrines? As time marches on, we pick up new habits, new opinions, new learnings, new beliefs, and fresh outlooks on the life we and those around us lead. Everything is in a constant state of change, sometimes seemingly in regression. But everything moves ephemerally forwards. The nature of the universe, the expression of communities, even to ones mind, is in a constant state of movement, entropic change. It's inescapable, yet we can direct it, at least as much of it that is in our control - our thoughts and actions. We can go deep into thought and question why certain patterns arise and nudge beliefs, especially those of self determination, or self defeat - or believing that you can't do something, towards those that will push you to strive, without struggle against the tides. We are currently at the precipice of the start of a huge change that will forever impact the landscape of humanity, incentivising man and woman to find their true nature and embracing it. To become more aligned. Godspeed.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 27 November 8th - Actors in a Play "Remember that you are an actorin a play, playing a character according to the will of the playwright - if a short play, then it's short, if long, long. If he wishes you to play the beggar, play even that role well, just as you would if it were a cripple, a honcho, or an everyday person. For this is your duty, to perform well the character assigned you. That selection belongs to another." -Epictetus, Enchiridion, 17 From the Author: "Our station in life can be as random as a roll of the dice. Some of us are born into privilege, others into adversity. Sometimes we're given exactly the opportunities we want. At other times we're given a lucky break, but to us it feels like a burden. The Stoics remind us that whatever happens to us today or over the course of our lives, wherever we fall on the intellectual, social, or physical spectra, our job is not to complain or bemoan our plight but to do the best we can to accept it and fulfill it. Is there still room for flexibility or ambition? Or course! The history of the stage is littered with stories of bit parts that turned into starring roles and indelible characters that were expanded in future adaptations. But even this begins with acceptance and understanding - and desire to excel at what we have been assigned." I'm not sure where or when I first heard about it, nor how it ties in with Samsara, the Hindu belief of reincarnation, but a theory that resonates with me is such; in the afterlife, we review our lives, whether that's God's judgement, or a coordinated effort to see what you learned, then you choose another role, and other lessons to learn, in the next life. Each life giving yourself different 'fate' lines, where you invite other souls/spirits to come along and play their part along side you. I think overcoming adversity, having gratitude, patience and being accepting of who you are is a big part of navigating the lessons, trials if you will, that we have set for ourselves. And despite this, having potentially limitless impressions on this world, birth, life, death, rebirth, we must realise that we don't carry from one to the next our memories consciously, and therefore we must treat this like our only life, our precious, limited time, to do the best we can, to be the best we can with what tools we're given. Become the star of the show if you wish, and put your whole self out there. Maybe the lesson to be learned is humility. Or be a wallflower, keep to yourself and a small group - and perhaps learn that you must be more open, that you must seize whats infront of you. Whatever it is, along with your purpose, find it. Run with it. What's the worst that can happen?

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Day 26 November 7th - How To Be Powerful "Don't trust in your reputation, money, or position, but in the strength that is yours - namely, your judgements about the things that you control and don't control. For this alone is what makes us free and unfettered, that picks us up by the neck from the depths and lifts us eye to eye with the rich and powerful." -Epictetus, Discourses, 3.26.34-34 Excerpts from Author: "In a scene in Steven Pressfield's classic novel about Alexander the Great, The Virtues of War, Alexander reaches a river crossing only to be confronted by a philosopher who refuses to move. 'This man has conquered the world!' one of Alexander's men shouts. 'What have you done?' The Philosopher responds, with complete confidence, 'I have conquered the need to conquer the world'. We do know that Alexander did clash with Diogenes the Cynic, a philosopher known for his rejection of what society prizes and, by extension, Alexander's self-image. Just as in Pressfield's fictional encounter, in Diogenes real confrontation with Alexander, the philosopher was more powerful than the most powerful man in the world - because, unlike him, Diogenes had fewer wants. They were able to look each other in the eye and see who really had control over himself, who had achieved the self-mastery required for real and lasting power. You can have that too. It just means focusing inward on acquiring power rather than outward. As Pubilius Syrus, himself a former slave, put it: 'Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself!'" "Every man has a kingdom inside him Will he ever see What is here in the now is the reason Find the path for his soul to be free Deep inside is the key..." Dungeon - The Power Within Not only do we all have an Empire, or a Kingdom, inside us, we have the ability to dig deep for the key. In self mastery this would reflect our abundance and gratitude for what we have, or our ability to extend our time horizon the future, or to discipline ourselves in ways of physical training, philosophical thinking and prayer. To keep your word and to pursue what matters, doing what helps your growth. Not in power over others, but over yourself. The power within.