Futurelawyer

#TBT - I Hope Your Life Is Filled With Tragedy And Despair

I Hope Your Life Is Filled With Tragedy And Obstacles...Because It Will Be.

Wow. Strong sentiment. How can you be so cruel, Mr. FutureLawyer? How can you wish for me to experience tragedy and obstacles in my life. Don't you want me to be happy, and free from stress and troubles? The simple answer is NO. So, your spouse died? Your dog died? You got caught in a traffic jam? You were in an auto accident and lost your leg? You went into combat overseas and were horribly injured? Thank God. Every human being faces bad stuff every day. Society is paralyzed by these tragedies and obstacles. How will life ever be the same? Woe is me. My answer, and the answer of millennia of Stoic philosophers? Suck it up, buttercup. You need some tough love, and you need to turn tragedy into triumph. Get a copy of Ryan Holiday's book "The Obstacle Is The Way". In his words:

 

"...this will be a book of ruthless pragmatism and stories from history that illustrate the arts of relentless persistence and indefatigable ingenuity. It teaches you how to get unstuck, unfucked, and unleashed. How to turn the many negative situations we encounter in our lives into positive ones - or, at least, to snatch whatever benefit we can from them. To steal good fortune from misfortune.""

 

Life begins after fate deals us a blow. No one escapes. The only way out is death. So, while you are alive, live. I am. In fact, in a couple of months, I am marrying this beautiful human being:

Stretch The Timeline Long Enough, And We Are All Invisible

We all need to think of ourselves as blips in a timeline that stretches billions of years. Do any of you believe that, a thousand years from now, any of us will be discussed, remembered, or otherwise a part of the human conversation? Of course not. So, when I engrave the words "Memento Mori" on my rings, so that I will be reminded every morning when I put them on my fingers, I will never forget who and what I am. A blip in an infinite timeline. Ryan Holiday is a very bright young man, and I recommend his books and speeches. Here is a short one, in which he is selling a medallion inscribed with the reminder that we are all going to die. 

#MementoMori - Living In The Present While Pondering The Future, I Am

Die, I will. Of this, I am certain. Living in the present, I am. 

Sympatheia - Before You Criticize, Remember All Men Are Connected

What Is Sympatheia? (And Why It%u2019s So Damn Important). Sympathy has devolved from the original Greek to a term describing having kind thoughts and feelings about someone going through a rough patch. However, the original meaning, in the Stoic sense, means that all men are brothers and sisters, and should be treated as such. That means ALL men and women, not just the ones who share our political or religious views. Before you spew hatred or bile, remind yourself that you are part of a connected group of humans populating the planet. This is not some sort of One World Global Government initiative. All men are free to organize themselves into countries or groups or organizations. But, we all need to recognize that what affects one of us affects us all.

Change The Mind, Not The Venue

A Stoic Approach to Travel and Tourism by William O. Stephens %u2013 Modern Stoicism. Happiness is not a function of place, wealth, circumstance, or public view. It is inside the head, and you should look for happiness where it is; not where it is not. We travel a lot, in our mobile society. As I prepare for a week of eating, drinking, and other excesses in the Big Easy, where I went to college, I am thinking that I will still be me there. So, rather than try to escape here, I should be thinking about where my head is at. The venue may change; but, I am always traveling with a companion, in my head. Are you seeking redemption in travel? Or, are you looking at what you can control, inside?

The Other Side Of Midnight

None of us know what is on the other side of Midnight.

A Stoic Response to Grief

A Stoic Response to Grief. Fate keeps testing my Stoic beliefs. As I sit here pondering the death of my beloved parrot, Savannah, I am concentrating on all the good times we had. Stoicism teaches us to contemplate such events every day, in order to be more prepared for them. I don't do that very well. However, I don't react with weeping and wailing either. I try to consider rationally that every life ends. Ours will end. Others will be tested by our deaths. We still have to go on living until fate calls us. What choice to we have? Savannah, rest in peace. I will try to continue living each day.

Memento mori - It's Easier To Understand When You Are Old

Memento mori - Wikipedia. First, thanks to all of you for the kind birthday wishes. While I feel fortunate to reach an advanced age, it occurs to me that we don't really understand philosophical concepts like Memento Mori until and unless we make to old age. Losing a loved one, and getting closer to the inevitable end of life, become the impetus to enjoy each day more. Remembering we will die is easier when we get closer to the age that most of us know we will die. Take the opportunity, on your birthday, to remember that we never know when it will be the last one. Enjoy the day, always remembering it may be the last one. I will savor this birthday, because all of you remind me of what a good life should be about. Thanks for the reminders.

No Pain, No Gain

Stoicism and Pain Management: 4 Techniques Practiced By Marcus Aurelius. Many of us spend a lot of our lives in pain, avoiding pain, ameliorating pain, or otherwise trying to avoid the inevitable: Pain. Pain is as much a part of being human as breathing. Why do we fear it? Chronic pain, illness, death. These are all inevitable. So, why not embrace them, and, as the Stoics advise, Amor Fati? Love your fate. Embrace pain and so-called "bad" things. Indifference to life's events is essential to living a live worth living. Because, no matter what happens, or has happened, or that we fear might happen, we have to live with the events. It does no good to ignore, fear, or otherwise attempt avoidance. Get over it.

"It's an absolutely fundamental principle of Stoic ethics that painful (or pleasant) sensations are neither good nor bad but rather indifferent – at least with regard to the supreme goal of our lives. It's natural for us to prefer not to experience painful sensations, or other symptoms of illness."

 

 

The Search For Meaning In The Universe

Are you looking for meaning and purpose in your life? Do you want to know why we are here? Do you want to know the answer to all questions? Look no further.