Head-dibs

Ah, the oddly satisfying sport of American Freestyle Canoeing. Apparently it's a thing. Or it was. 

SUMMUM BONUM: "The Highest Good" (Virtue) “Indeed, if you find anything in human life better than justice, truth, self-control, courage— in short, anything better than the sufficiency of your own mind, which keeps you acting according to the demands of true reason and accepting what fate gives you outside of your own power of choice— I tell you, if you can see anything better than this, turn to it heart and soul and take full advantage of this greater good you’ve found.”  “Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter. Cold or warm. Tired or well-rested. Despised or honored. Dying…or busy with other assignments.” (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations) wishlist AMOR FATI: Love Your Fate Something happened that we wish had not. Which of these is easiest to change: our opinion or the event that is past? “Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will— then your life will flow well.” (...

(Marcus Aurelius) Take one minute to listen to Dr. Maxwell on this subject:

rev·er·ence /ˈrev(ə)rəns/ noun 1. deep respect for someone or something.  synonyms: high esteem, high regard, great respect, acclaim, admiration, approbation, approval, appreciation, estimation, favor, recognition  verb 1. regard or treat with deep respect.  synonyms: revere, respect, admire, think highly of, have a high opinion of, hold in high regard, esteem, hold in (high) esteem, think much of, approve of, appreciate, cherish, value, set (great) store by, prize, treasure, look up to 

"For there are two rules to keep at ready: that there is nothing good or bad outside my own reasoned choice and that we shouldn't try to lead events but to follow them." (Epictetus, Discourses 3.10) "The cause of my irritation is not in this person but in me." (Anthony DeMello, Jesuit Priest)

Seneca tells the story of the philosopher Crates, who was walking in Athens when he saw a young man talking to no one around. “What are you doing?” Crates asked. “I am talking to myself,” the man replied. “Be careful,” Crates told him, “for you are communing with a bad man!” Whether this young man was in fact a bad kid or not, Seneca doesn’t say. One suspects Crates was joking—unless it was his practice to go around insulting complete strangers. Or it may have been that Crates was referring less to the quality of that stranger’s soul and was instead making a more general point about the dialogues we are all prone to having with ourselves—conversations that are hardly productive or healthy. The writer Anne Lamott spoke of a radio station, KFKD (K-Fucked) which plays in far too many our heads: "Out of the right speaker in your inner ear will come the endless stream of self-aggrandizement, the recitation of one’s specialness, of how much more open and gifted...

Marcus Aurelius

“You are not your body and hair-style, but your capacity for choosing well. If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be.” (Epictetus)

True art in this perfect melting pot of Rush/Pink Floyd/Doors/Kansas/jazz-style prog masterpiece. How they keep it together after the 2:00 mark is pure magic:

“Whenever someone has done wrong by you, immediately consider what notion of good or evil they had in doing it. For when you see that, you’ll feel compassion, instead of astonishment or rage. For you may yourself have the same notions of good and evil, or similar ones, in which case you’ll make an allowance for what they’ve done. But if you no longer hold the same notions, you’ll be more readily gracious for their error.” (MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.26)

"I have to die. If it is now, well then I die now; if later, then now I will take my lunch, since the hour for lunch has arrived – and dying I will tend to later." (Epictetus, Discourses I, 1.32)

"The soul should have someone it can respect, by whose example it can make its inner sanctum more inviolable. Happy is the person who can improve others, not only when present, but even when in their thoughts!" (Seneca, Moral Letters, 11.9)

“So, concerning the things we pursue, and for which we vigorously exert ourselves, we owe this consideration either there is nothing useful in them, or most aren’t useful. Some of them are superfluous, while others aren’t worth that much. But we don’t discern this and see them as free, when they cost us dearly.” (Seneca, Moral Letters, 42.6) Those who accumulate do not count the cost. Not the material cost but the personal cost. Some people have the talent to get things free of charge and a cost still remains. Whatever you store in your closet, shed, attic or heart, ask yourself:  Do I really need this? What is this actually worth?  What is it costing me to keep?  If you let go for peace of mind, then you do what is right. 

"He is free who lives as he wishes to live; who is neither subject to compulsion nor to hindrance, nor to force; whose movements to action are not impeded, whose desires attain their purpose, and who does not fall into that which he would avoid. Who, then, chooses to live in error? No man. Who chooses to live deceived, liable to mistake, unjust, unrestrained, discontented, mean? No man. Not one then of the bad lives as he wishes; nor is he, then, free. And who chooses to live in sorrow, fear, envy, pity, desiring and failing in his desires, attempting to avoid something and falling into it? Not one. Do we then find any of the bad free from sorrow, free from fear, who does not fall into that which he would avoid, and does not obtain that which he wishes? Not one; nor then do we find any bad man free. What, then, is that which makes a man free from hindrance and makes him his own master? For wealth does not do it, nor consulship, nor provincial government, nor royal power; but some...

This March will include a 21 day SEALFit fitness challenge of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats in each day of the challenge. Reasons to do this: Since the 100 mile running challenge last November, overall body strength and mobility is not fully recovered; My left arm maintains various levels of tendinitis. Lifting has not been my friend since December;  The challenge serves as a reminder that things could be worse. Some things hurt more than others and will never go away, so I train to live with pain. As the SEALs say, "Suffer in Silence." So my training extends through the emotional, mental, and spiritual. What I think does not matter--just complete the mission; Commitment to completing one hard task per day, no equipment required. I've gotten soft. Especially around the middle.  It's always good to be part of something bigger than yourself. There's this beautiful point of tension after starting out ("I can do that! Easy Day!") when yo...

"We ought, however, first to examine our own selves, next the business which we propose to transact, next those for whose sake or in whose company we transact it. It is above all things necessary to form a true estimate of oneself, because as a rule we think that we can do more than we are able: one man is led too far through confidence in his eloquence, another demands more from his estate than it can produce, another burdens a weakly body with some toilsome duty. Some men are too shamefaced for the conduct of public affairs, which require an unblushing front: some men's obstinate pride renders them unfit for courts: some cannot control their anger, and break into unguarded language on the slightest provocation: some cannot rein in their wit or resist making risky jokes: for all these men leisure is better than employment: a bold, haughty and impatient nature ought to avoid anything that may lead it to use a freedom of speech which will bring it to ruin.  Next we must for...

"When children stick their hand down a narrow goody jar they can’t get their full fist out and start crying. Drop a few treats and you will get it out! Curb your desire — don’t set your heart on so many things and you will get what you need." (Epictetus, Discourses 3.9.22) "You can't always (be) get(ting) what you want." (Ryan Holiday)