Futurelawyer

Bookshelves And Nosy People

Execupundit BookShelves Partial Disclosure. Michael Wade writes about the current practice of background shaming, in which viewers of webinars or participants in Zoom meetings look for embarrassing or otherwise objectionable books on the shelves in the participant background. He then posts a photo of a portion of his massive print library. Since I am follower, and not  a leader, I felt that I had to post my own partial book shelf, which includes two print copies of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and Trawick's Florida Practice and Procedure, along with some of my hundreds of books in the foreground. If you can glean my character from the photo, I congratulate you on your mind reading abilities.

The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis Was A Christian Stoic..Who Knew?

Screwtape Letters. Michael Wade cites The Screwtape Letters as a book he comes back to at times like this. It prompted me to remember the C.S. Lewis book, which is a series of letters from the Devil to Wormwood, his underling, advising him how to tempt a human suffering during the horrors of World War II. It reads like a list of things a Stoic would never do in time of trial. Be angry at others. Encourage the human to let his mind worry about all the disasters befalling him. Feed the human's anxiety about the future by prompting him to try to control events beyond his control. You don't need to believe in God to understand that a rational human realizes that tragedy and evil are going to happen, and that accepting it and living anyway is the best path to follow. Thanks, Michael, for reminding me that great authors have dealt with stuff like Coronavirus throughout our history. Screw Screwtape.

Ancient Wisdom...Make Time For It

Ryan Holiday reminds us that 2020 isn't the first scary time in history. Winston Churchill, in 1939, with Hitler invading everywhere, read old fiction. Why? He found it comforting. This sounds crazy, until you realize that the only way to deal with current scary times is to read those who lived through their own. In fiction, and reading, we see all of the human tragedies unfold. We see greed, envy, lust, anger, evil, and every sort of human suffering. We also see good, triumph over evil, and every sort of human goodness. Reading all of our forebears who thought to write down what they lived, is the best way to prepare for, and then deal with, our own repeated history. Because everything that is, has happened before. Different humans, same story. If you are bored, it is your own fault. Because many who have lived before have something important to teach us. Ryan admits that he is just an aggregator of history and fiction and philosophy. I call him a wisdom aggregator. He admits that he is just a marketer, and he is very good at it. But, he is marketing something every intelligent human needs...the tools to survive and thrive in a scary world. Just like news aggregators of today, who cull tidbits from thousands of sources, and publish them for consumption on the Internet, or in newspapers, he collects, reads and redistributes ancient philosophers, and writers, and novelists and others. What better use of time for Churchill as he prepared to deal with Hitler than to cull the wisdom of others? As Ryan writes today:

"You may think you don’t have time for poetry or theater or ancient mythology. We promise, you do. You have to. Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Aristotle, Montaigne, Plato, Shakespeare–the greatest minds in history quoted and adapted fictional works as though they were fact. That’s how valuable fiction is. If you haven’t discovered that already, if all you remember about the Iliad is it was required reading in high school or the Aeneid is it has something to do with the founding of Rome—you have been misguided. You were not given the tools and techniques necessary to understanding and enjoying humanity’s greatest works of art."

 

 

 

 

Kerouac And The Eternity Of Zen

Jack Kerouac - Golden Eternity. One of St. Petersburg's claims to fame was the residence here briefly before his death. But, the free flowing writing that he made famous was, in my opinion, eclipsed by his adoption of Zen principles of the eternity of the universe that are captured in Stoic philosophy. Nothing is good or bad. Everything is the same over time. We live in an eternity of kindness and self illusion, if we live at all. In this great letter to his ex-wife, Kerouac touches on themes that every human should consider when we are mired in useless angst over our daily struggles. He tended to write free flowing stream of consciousness poetry, and this is a perfect example:

"The world you see is just a movie in your mind.
Rocks dont see it.
Bless and sit down.
Forgive and forget.
Practice kindness all day to everybody
and you will realize you’re already
in heaven now.
That’s the story.
That’s the message.
Nobody understands it,
nobody listens, they’re
all running around like chickens with heads cut
off. I will try to teach it but it will
be in vain, s’why I’ll
end up in a shack
praying and being
cool and singing
by my woodstove
making pancakes."

Remember, today, when you are struggling to make sense of the daily emergencies, that it is all just a movie in your mind. You get to play all the parts, and you get to write the script. It is up to you.

Home Libraries Are Nice...But You Can't Take Them On A Cruise Ship

Home Library. When Michael Wade posts that he is envious of someone's home library, pay attention. He is enamored with novelist Larry McMurtry's library, pictured here. But, alas, neither Michael's library nor Larry's will do me much good on an ocean liner in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. So, I will curl up in the ship library with my trusty Kindle and tablet, on both of which I have thousands of books, ranging from classical philosophy and literature to modern newspapers and magazines. I can read my hometown paper, the Tampa Bay Times, on the PressReader app, along with hundreds of other papers and magazines, all while looking out a the ocean, sitting in my comfortable deck chair. So, to each his own, Michael and Larry. To each his own.

Lawyer Blog AND Poetry AND Philosophy? Why Not?

My favorite current writer about Stoicism, Ryan Holiday, has a piece today about being okay with being different.We are each unique. Why do we spend so much time trying to be like everybody else? I have been called eccentric, and worse, for filling a law blog with other stuff, like poetry and philosophy. Don't be afraid to be different. Be who you are. You will be surprised at how many others you will give the courage to be themselves. In Holiday's words:

"There has always been an odd streak in the Stoics. Zeno used to practice begging people for money, even though he had plenty. Cleanthes worked as a manual laborer for so long, some in Athens thought it might be a front for something. Cato used to walk around bareheaded and barefooted, wearing dingy clothing. Seneca was completely unafraid both of regularly practicing poverty (despite his wealth) and unafraid of showing his wealth (despite his reputation as a Stoic). He also experimented with vegetarianism at a time when it was deeply transgressive in Rome. And can you imagine the scene Marcus Aurelius created when he would write and read philosophy while the gladiatorial games raged on beneath his box seats in the coliseum?

The Stoics were not afraid to be themselves, to be seen as weird. In fact, that’s something Epictetus said: If you want to improve, if you want to achieve wisdom, you have to be okay looking strange or even clueless from time to time. Epictetus also tells us the story of Agrippinus, who refused to keep a low profile during Nero’s reign, who refused to conform or tamp down his independent thinking. Why do this, Agrippinus was asked, why not be like the rest of us?

Because you consider yourself to be only one thread of those which are in the tunic. Well then it was fitting for you to take care how you should be like the rest of men, just as the thread has no design to be anything superior to the other threads. But I wish to be purple, that small part which is bright, and makes all the rest appear graceful and beautiful. Why then do you tell me to make myself like the many? And if I do, how shall I still be purple?

Beautifully said. And a reminder to all of us today. Embrace who you really are, embrace what makes you unique. Let your freak flag fly—because chances are it’s special. Shine on you crazy diamond. Be purple. Be the small part that makes the rest bright.

We desperately need you to do that."

Poems For Lovers Available As EBook.

Poems For Lovers. The Kindle EBook version of Poems For Lovers is now available at Amazon. If you want the Kindle version check the site in 72 hours and the files should be available for download.

Poems For Lovers Gets Some Blog Love

Execupundit. I really appreciate the blogger friends I have around the globe giving some blog love to the book. Their friendship, and their links, are much appreciated. Thanks, Michael.

Google Books - Yes, It Is Here As Well.

Poems For Lovers Yes, Virginia, the book is at Google Books also. Want exposure for your new offering? The Internet allows you to place it everywhere.

Amazon Book Recommendation - Buy This Book

Poems For Lovers. It isn't often that I find a book that moves me like this new collection of poetry from Rick Georges, the FutureLawyer. Just kidding. But, the new collection is now available at Amazon, and, given the commercial success of most poetry collections, I fully expect sales in the tens. So, get out your credit card, people, and buy, buy, buy.