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Character Is Fate - Good News And Bad News

The Daily Stoic has an important message today, which certainly is a lesson for our times. The Stoic principle that character is fate tells us that the evil and ignorant get what's coming to them, sooner or later; but, if we stand by and benefit from their actions or inactions, we too pay the price. The bad news is that bad actors will always be with us. The good news is that this too shall pass. 

"After death and taxes, this is a timeless adage that the Stoics believed will determine our destiny whether we like it or not. And just a quick glimpse around the world and across history confirms it: Liars and cheats eventually destroy themselves. The corrupt overreach. The ignorant make fatal, self-inflicted mistakes. The egotistical ignore the data that challenges them and the warnings that could save them. The selfish end up isolated and alone, even if they’re surrounded by fame and fortune. The "robbers, perverts, killers and tyrants" Marcus Aurelius wrote about always end up in a hell of their own making. It’s a law as true as gravity.

Bad character might drive someone into a position of leadership—because of their ambition, their ruthlessness, their shamelessness—but eventually, inevitably, this supposed “strength” becomes an Achilles’ heel when it comes time to actually do the job. Who trusts them? Who actually wants to work with them? What kind of culture develops around them? How can they learn? How can they know where the landmines are?"

Why Do You Love Yourself More, But Seek Wisdom Elsewhere?

One of my favorite quotes from Marcus Aurelius is this one. In these times, we need to listen to our own voices before we give credence to those who pretend to know what is best for us. We look for wisdom everywhere but in our own minds and souls. As an exercise, ask yourself what your really think before you seek the answers in the mind of another.

People Are Losing It - Expect It And Don't Panic

You may have noticed that the stress and anxiety of the current situation is causing some bad behavior out there. Since certain tasks require us to be out and about, remember the advice of Marcus Aurelius, which I speak to myself every morning:

"Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man’s two hands, feet or eyelids, or the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature’s law – and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction. ”

Don't be like them. But, accept them as fellow humans. 

Memento Mori In A Time Of Pandemic

Memento Mori. Since my wife's death several years ago, I have worn two rings. One is a plain band simple inscribed with the words: "Memento Mori", a Stoic phrase that is a reminder that, sooner or later, we all die. An apocryphal story about the Roman Emperor who had a slave follow him around, repeating the phrase serves as a reminder to us all. My other ring has a skull representing death, and the same inscription, surrounding by Roman numerals representing the passage of time. Death stalks us all. Why are so many people shocked and surprised that a global pandemic will cause some of us to die? The night before my open heart surgery five years ago, I signed a consent form that notified me that 1% of persons undergoing that surgery would die in surgery. I told the physician that I was okay with those odds. Marcus Aurelius lived through the Antonine plague, which killed many Roman citizens and was brought home by soldiers coming home from fighting in the East. If he were alive today, he would counsel rational care, while recognizing that some of us will die, and to continue living life within the constraints brought to us by fate. We often say that each day is a gift. Now would be a good time to really mean it. Eat, Pray, Love today. Remember, you will die.

Galaxy Quest - Never Give Up. Never Surrender

Galaxy Quest If ever there was a time when every American needed to see Galaxy Quest, this is it. Never Give Up. Never Surrender.

 

In Times Like These, We Need Inspiration And A Call To Arms

One of the great speeches. In these times, we are all a "band of brothers". 

 

Brigid Is A Buddhist With Attitude - Be Like Brigid

Keep Calm And Be A Stoic. One good thing about this pandemic is that it is highlighting Stoicism as a practical philosophy for living in this world. I discovered Stoicism late, when I was reading about grief and surviving tragedy after my wife's death several years ago. Once I discovered it, I became addicted to the rational, practical methods for dealing with everything life throws at you. I had spent years wallowing in stress, tragedy, and everything that was stressful or didn't go the way I thought it should. This article by Brigid Delaney in the Guardian is a really fine exposition of Stoicism and its benefits in dealing with this pandemic and other human misery. The Stoic philosophers thought that tragedy and problems were the best thing about life, because they revealed us for who we really are. The obstacle is the way, they said. Every obstacle creates opportunities for personal growth, and living a good life. The "Keep Calm" meme is a good example. Deal calmly with events, and act rationally. I love her phrase: "Be a Buddhist With Attitude". A Stoic takes action and does her best to deal. But, she is calm and rational about it, and, as each challenge unfolds, she deals with them. Be like Brigid. Be like a Stoic. This too shall pass.

Premeditatio Malorum - For The Practicing Stoic, This Crisis Was Expected

Practice The Stoic Art Of Negative Visualization. It is a fact of life. Bad things happen. But, they aren't always bad. They can have good results. But, understanding and preparing for such facially bad things is a Stoic art, and makes life easier to handle. Most of what I have learned about Stoicism comes from Ryan Holiday, and his Daily Stoic, and other writings. But, the wisdom he disseminates, he freely admits, is culled from thousands of years of human wisdom. In this time of human crisis, it is beneficial to point out that the early Greek philosophers practiced negative visualization, or premeditation malorum. That is, recognizing and expecting that S*** happens. We are always better able to deal with the expected. Crisis loses its power when we expect it. Panic and bad human behavior comes from those who are blindsided by evil or bad stuff. Remember that you will die. Expect that you will get sick. Expect that war will come. Expect that tragedy will strike when you least expect it. Negative visualization isn't negative. It is a positive recognition of the inevitable. When bad things happen, you deal with them, one thing at a time, until they either kill you, or you survive. So, chill. This too shall pass. Unless it doesn't. Either way, you control your reaction. You control the response. I sometimes think about the tag line of one of my favorite TV series of all time: "The Outer Limits". Remember? "We are in control of your TV set. We control the Horizontal. We control the Vertical. " Etc. I remember thinking, even then. "No, you don't", because I control the On-Off Switch. So, don't panic. Don't worry. They are useless emotions. You control the switch. Enjoy the solitude. Enjoy the family. Enjoy binge watching NetFlix. Enjoy your life. Until, you can't.

What The Stoics Can Teach Us About Handling Crisis

A Stoic Response To The Climate Crisis. All of the hand wringing, and the Sky Is Falling rhetoric and hoarding and other human idiocy in the world will not stop the current pandemic. The Stoics can teach us a lot about controlling our own selves and actions during crisis. Control your reactions by calmly living your life, taking reasonable precautions, and knowing that whatever will happen is beyond your control. This article about a Stoic response to the climate crisis works even if you substitute global pandemic every time the climate crisis phrase is used. From Epictetus: "Our desires should only be directed towards what’s possible, because desiring what’s impossible will inevitably produce frustration and unhappiness". It makes no sense to stop living your life because it is impossible for you to stop the pandemic. Do what is possible. Live a life that is responsible and as virtuous as you can make it. Stop worrying about things beyond your control. If it is time to die, so be it. From Marcus Aurelius, who constantly reminded himself of the impermanence of life. How can anyone be surprised that tragedies happen? They have happened throughout human existence. “The foolishness of people who are surprised by anything that happens. Like travellers amazed at foreign customs”. Stop being shocked by events. Start doing the best you can as an individual. As this author states: "Global extinction-level crises have happened before, at least five times, wiping out between 75-96% of life on Earth each time". A Pandemic should be the least of our worries. But, we shouldn't worry at all. Expect that horrible stuff will happen, because it will. Live anyway. Finally, Seneca, who counseled that we focus  "...on the perfection of character, and cultivation of peace and strength of mind in the face of adversity". Matthew Gindin is a former Buddhist monk who teaches philosophy to children, and who has much to teach all of us. His closing paragraph: 

"So our Stoic advisors, who intended their philosophy to speak eternally across the ages for any human exigency, say: do not waste time in being shocked at human irrationality; do not be naïve about how bad things can get; and begin training for a world of lack and hardship. Restrict your desire to perfecting your own understanding and good choices, and fulfill your role as a rational animal on the Earth regardless of whether global civilisation can be saved or not".

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.