Head-dibs

Once we develop the habit of living in fear, it will not matter how good things get.  "You will be frightened out of your wits, not only by real, but by fancied dangers, and will be tossed for ever on the sea of illusion. What benefit will it be to  'Have threaded all the towns of Argolis, A fugitive through midmost press of foes?' For peace itself will furnish further apprehension. Even in the midst of safety you will have no confidence if your mind has once been given a shock; once it has acquired the habit of blind panic, it is incapable of providing even for its own safety. For it does not avoid danger, but runs away. Yet we are more exposed to danger when we turn our backs." (Seneca, 104) If we train our mind to worry, then we train ourselves to live in misery. We are primed for fear. The solution is to re-train in order to thrive when good fortune comes. Training takes work, that's why it's called "confidence building." We need t...

"What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. The fact that it was unforeseen has never failed to intensify a person’s grief. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events." (Seneca, Letters from a Stoic)

Seneca wrote, "It’s not in my power how long I will live, but rather how long I will truly exist.” The wisdom offered here is plain: it's not how long one lives, but what one does with the time he or she has that counts. Some people who die at a very old age have hardly lived at all. Some die as slaves, and they don't even know it. Seneca wrote in another place, "I could name a former Consul who is a slave to a little old woman, a millionaire who is the slave of the cleaning woman . . ." How much time has been lost, frittered away, wasted? There is a difference between rest time and wasted time. We need rest, some measure of distraction, but that's no place to live. Rest is how we recharge for life! I once heard a doctor warn a patient who obviously got laziness confused with living: "get busy living, or get busy dying!" There is no return on wasted time. There is no going back. Time well spent being creative, writing, playing music, ...

“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.” (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations) I am occasionally met with a greeting that often includes "how's life?" and, as much as I try to have a ready answer, I find myself delving much deeper to a meaningful answer. The best answer I've found is one word: "abundant." Life is full of both good and bad, of both delight and depression, of feasting and famine, of dancing and wrestling. And most often I find there is more wrestling than dancing. Regardless, my answer is summative.  The Emperor is keen to indicate how the skill, the application and expression of existence is more like wrestling than dancing because of the unexpected nature of what is outside our control. He does not say there is no dancing and all life is a battlefield; rather he holds that living well is tough but it is not without rewards. ...

“Whenever you suffer pain, keep in mind that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and that it can’t degrade your guiding intelligence, nor keep it from acting rationally and for the common good. And in most cases you should be helped by the saying of Epicurus, that pain is never unbearable or unending, so you can remember these limits and not add to them in your imagination. Remember too that many common annoyances are pain in disguise, such as sleepiness, fever and loss of appetite. When they start to get you down, tell yourself you are giving in to pain.” (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations")

The origin (and subsquently, the meaning of) "Crescit Eundo" (the motto of the great state of New Mexico) is widely debated. One might suggest that the primary reason for debate is due to the lack of readers. The phrase is found in a 1st Century text called "De Rerum Natura," ("On The Nature Of Things") written by Lucretius, an Epicurean philosopher.  Epicureans maintained some strange ideas but many were actually right, such as the design of nature (personally, Stoicism is the better choice). Lucretius held that all matter was composed of particles invisible to the naked eye. With this in mind, Lucretius wrote about lightening, and this caused a stir, for popular opinion was that lightning was a demonstration of anger from the gods. Lucretius, on the other hand, proposed that those particles were acting and reacting to one another, that nature was doing what it was designed to do and no gods were tossing...

“It is better to conquer our grief than to deceive it. For if it has withdrawn, being merely beguiled by pleasures and preoccupations, it starts up again and from its very respite gains force to savage us. But the grief that has been conquered by reason is calmed for ever. I am not therefore going to prescribe for you those remedies which I know many people have used, that you divert or cheer yourself by a long or pleasant journey abroad, or spend a lot of time carefully going through your accounts and administering your estate, or constantly be involved in some new activity. All those things help only for a short time; they do not cure grief but hinder it. But I would rather end it than distract it.” — Seneca Do not complain about what has been taken away but be thankful about what has been given.

"And now, O son of Axiochus, let me put a question to you: Do not all men desire happiness? And yet, perhaps, this is one of those ridiculous questions which I am afraid to ask, and which ought not to be asked by a sensible man: for what human being is there who does not desire happiness?" (Socrates to Clinias, son of Axiochus) First, I am glad to report the storm is over. The last day and a half passed in the quiet lumbering drift of a weakening storm. Watching the rainfall, I was reminded of that kind of snowfall that silently drifts in heavy flakes, nearly obscuring a longer view. It fell with little sound, almost like a mist--only it wouldn't stop. (Someone posted on Facebook, "I refuse to mark myself safe from mist"). Just as there were no deep drifts to plow through, so the fallen water had just enough time to pass over the ground, finding its lowest point in the stream some hundred yards or more down the hill. No flooding in our neighborhood. We we...

"It’s something like going on an ocean voyage. What can I do? Pick the captain, the boat, the date, and the best time to sail. But then a storm hits… What are my options? I do the only thing I am in a position to do . . ." (Epictetus, Discourses ) "Today I escaped from anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions — not outside." (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations ) Tropical Storm Florence finally arrived in our neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours this morning. Power went out around 6 a.m. and was restored a couple hours later. It's currently windy and raining but not in the strong ways possible--the forecast says that's still to come.  The two quotes (above) capture my thoughts regarding our immediate situation and I can't help but recall the other hurricanes that have blown through in years past. When the power went out this morning, I did the only thing I was in position to do . . . I went back to bed. A storm is...

Ever been stalked by a turtle? A turtle with a very full bladder? That's what it's like waiting for a hurricane. Tuesday, September 11 the Governor of South Carolina shut down all schools in preparation for the coming hurricane. The shut down is interesting for a number of reasons which include: allowing time for families to prepare for the coming storm and moving school buses to the coast to assist in evacuations. Though our University does not bus kids, we were still required to shut down. So the last few days have been "hurry up and wait." Just like last year, this very week. And in 2015, which saw record-breaking floods. It was October of last year we did this with Hurricane Matthew. At this moment, the sun is out and the wind is picking up. Stores are still heavily shopped and the pharmacy lines are long. While waiting to drop off a prescription last night (noting the length of the pick-up line--the Publix staff kept things moving and were very polite) we saw ...

“If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, 'He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.'” (Epictetus) Don't worry about what others say about you, especially if the news comes to you by way of a busy-body gossip. 

Hearing good things about this film, coming November 2019. Filmed on Van Gogh locations. It looks amazing!

"Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions not outside." (Marcus Aurelius) Which is easier to manage: a bundle of wood, or a stick of wood? How often we look at a situation and begin to spiral about the burden. "It's too big," or "I can't do this," or "the pressure is too great!" and before long anxiety has blurred our vision, weakened our resolve and undermined our foundations. When we build a fire, we don't carry the whole stack inside at once. We take a few sticks at a time and before long the entire pile has been moved! Why focus on the wood pile when all we need is to move one stick at a time? You've heard the old joke, "how do you eat an elephant?" The answer is "one bite at a time."  So when you feel worry set in, discard it. Anxiety won't help move the pile and will drain your energy. Anxiety won't add years to your life. How often w...

Legend has it that the astronomer Ptolemy (1st century A.D.) suggested that falling stars were caused by the gods moving in the heavens, thus knocking stars out of their places. Somehow people reasoned that that if the gods were moving, they must be getting close to earth so they would lift their "prayers" or "wishes" (literally, "desires") whenever they saw the stars falling in hopes the gods would notice and grant a favorable answer. But how does one wish on falling star? Once you see it, it's gone before the wish or prayer can be made! The answer is simple: meteor shower. That's how to get your wish. Mrs. Ann Hodges had a wish fall right into her lap. Sort of. In 1954 Mrs. Hodges was sleeping on the couch when a 8 1/2 pound meteorite fell through her house and into her living room where it bounced off the radio and struck her left hip leaving her with a bruise. Not sure what she was wishing, but that's not how to do it. Epictetus hel...

When I have the opportunity, I drive with the windows down. Most often someone else is in the car with me and that's ok. Most of my passengers (my wife, my daughter, my niece) are "windows up" kind of people--which is fine. That is a different kind of comfort. But when alone, the windows go down. Sometimes my son is "windows down." He works in that environment anyway. He doesn't think anything of it, I'm sure. Perhaps I should clarify: when the weather's nice, the windows go down. But not every time. Sometimes when I am able to drive in the rain, the window comes down just far enough to put my hand out and get stung with a million high-fives by heavy drops. Sometimes the bite of cold winter air snaps one to a new level of consciousness. Still cautious of the deeply humid summertime air of the South, though--got heat-stoke once a few years back while driving a couple hours with no air conditioning in the middle of June. Maybe it was July. Bad stuff...

I could watch the boys all day long. Enjoy this fun arrangement and have a great day off!