If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
August 27
“Heraclitus would shed tears whenever he went out in public—Democritus laughed. One saw the whole as a parade of miseries, the other of follies. And so, we should take a lighter view of things
and bear them with an easy spirit, for it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 15.2
I am working on getting better at this one. I did manage a little last week. My boss had been through a 3 week course in Georgia and he said the base General made everyone wear masks the last week. I sarcastically replied “Yep, those masks really work”. He said, “There are a lot of cases down there”. I started to get agitated “There is no evidence anywhere they work”. His reply, “I don’t want to get political”. I started to get mad, but caught myself and started laughing instead. “I said there’s no evidence, you replied about politics, I did not mention politics. You know who talks politics instead of science, idiots that believe following the science equals listening to politicians”. That was funny to me, and he didn’t argue. I know the true believer mask wearer was in the room, but she didn’t say anything either. That was a long winded way to say it felt much better to laugh instead of following my natural instinct to get mad.
August 28
“The founder of the universe, who assigned to us the laws of life, provided that we should live well, but not in luxury. Everything needed for our well-being is right before us, whereas what luxury
requires is gathered by many miseries and anxieties. Let us use this gift of nature and count it among the greatest things.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 119.15b
I think this one only applies if you live in a well off culture. If you live on the verge of starvation, it probably doesn’t seem as if god provides for you to live well. Personally, I need to work on the ability to live much simpler than I do now. This is a reminder to appreciate what I have and not become overly attached to being well off and not add stress to my life chasing things I don’t need.
August 29
“No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 123.3
I have plenty. My truck is mostly completed and she is a joy to drive. I used to have a 1973 Charger but I gave it to my nephew when I didn’t have time or money to work on her. It is in pieces in my brothers garage, and I am attempting to get it back. He hasn’t decided yet, but if he keeps her, I need to not be greedy and keep wanting something that does not belong to me. The same goes for wishing I made more money so I could just buy a restored one or wishing I had a bigger garage with a lift so working on my own cars would be easier and instead make the best use of the space I have.
August 30
“Anything that must yet be done, virtue can do with courage and promptness. For anyone would call it a sign of foolishness for one to undertake a task with a lazy and begrudging spirit, or to push
the body in one direction and the mind in another, to be torn apart by wildly divergent impulses.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 31.b–32
I don’t have this problem with my job, but I do sometimes with jobs around the house. I need to change the struts in my wife’s Corolla, I am not looking forward to doing this, but I was going to start on Sunday. I went to the garage, and screwed around on my tablet, put tools away from my last truck job, got my tools ready, fooled around cleaning off the workbench, next thing I knew, it was lunchtime and I haven’t even started on my wife’s car’s struts. Then I had a long lunch and didn’t go back out. My wife didn’t know I was planning on starting or else she would have teased me mercilessly. She already likes to point at the boxes of struts and call them decorations. This weekend, I will act with courage and promptness.
August 31
“Whenever you take offense at someone’s wrongdoing, immediately turn to your own similar failings, such as seeing money as good, or pleasure, or a little fame—whatever form it takes. By thinking on this, you’ll quickly forget your anger, considering also what compels them—for what else could they
do? Or, if you are able, remove their compulsion.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 10.30
I try to use this with my mom and she is trying to get an opinion out of me and I keep deflecting. I used to think I was right about everything and try to start discussions with people that didn’t agree. Luckily I’ve outgrown that, but I doubt she will. I also try to remember this when I am driving and an idiot does something stupid. I know in my younger days I did dumb things while I was driving. If you drive the speed limit in the express lanes however, there is no forgiveness possible.
September 1
“The rational soul is stronger than any kind of fortune—from its own share it guides its affairs here or there, and is itself the cause of a happy or miserable life.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 98.2b
If I am unhappy and angry, I can either find someone or something to blame, or I can take responsibility for my mood and change the way I am thinking. It doesn’t matter what the outside world is doing as much as it matters what my mind is doing. Last weekend my wife and I wanted to go kayaking in the morning. I dragged the kayaks down to the lake and while I was getting hers set up it started raining. I needed to mow the grass that afternoon. I let the rain piss me off, so when she showed up I was angry. Luckily it was a single rain cloud and it passed rather quickly. Was it the rain’s fault I was irritated that my wife was late? It was mine and I did apologize, then we had a good morning kayaking on the lake.
September 2
“Men, the philosopher’s lecture-hall is a hospital—you shouldn’t walk out of it feeling pleasure, but pain, for you aren’t well when you enter it.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.23.30
Trying to be a practicing Stoic is not fun. It is not easy to change my outlook on life. I still have setbacks. But just like hurting my muscles and lungs make them stronger, challenging my own mentality towards the world makes my mind stronger. I still have issues, but I have become much more capable of not getting upset, and when I do slip up I have a much stronger ability to change course.
Today’s music follows last week with more “Hair Metal” band that was actually good hard rock.
This song rocks.
Modern Day Cowboy
Lay it on the Line
“And so, we should take a lighter view of things and bear them with an easy spirit, for it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it.” Yep. My goal in a nutshell. Laughter is so powerful. Hence the progressive hatred of comedy. They can take your anger, even feed on it. They cannot take your a get.
“Everything needed for our well-being is right before us, whereas what luxury requires is gathered by many miseries and anxieties.” I am remodeling the bedroom to make it more luxurious now. Stoics, take me away!
Thanks for this Ron!
How did laughter turn into “a get?” Clearly our typing is being sabotaged by government agents.
They can take your laughter, but they cannot take your autocorrect aphasia!
A. Turn autocorrect off; and/or
B. Get a better autocorrecting app (I use Swiftkey on my phone — can’t praise it highly enough).
A – Only true answer.
Truth.
I do not have mine on, nor do I have predictive text turned on.
I missed your anniversary post.
I haven’t watched all the movies you’ve posted, but I did see many.
Corona Zombies was probably the funniest, but without a doubt, Bubba Ho-Tep is my favorite.
I still chuckle to myself picturing JFK saying “They dyed me this color. What better way to hide the truth!”
The Oingo Boingo one and the Opera about surgical repos get honorable mention.
Ossie Davis was pure gold in that movie.
I thought he was black. 😕
They dyed him that for the role. 😎
He is. The CIA dyed JFK… and replaced a portion of his brain with a bag of sand.
I about died laughing when Elvis discovered the scars on JFK’s head.
He is.
But UCS said he was gold.
::shrugs:: Never believe an Irishman, I guess.
Oi! You knew I was a writer of fictions even before this exchange.
I saw your joke there GT.
It was a fun year! Next year will be uncharted waters.
I loom forward to your one year anniversary! Do Stoics have any advice on celebrating such an accomplishment?
But do you lean in?
He likes to weave his way into things.
Hey… someone liked Repo!
Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense to me either.
I enjoy Repo! I even own it on DVD.
Yay!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6GZpmi8Z9Q
To me, it was weird enough to be entertaining.
Agreed. I need to laugh, it’s one reason I hang out in this den of iniquity.
Everything needed for our well-being is right before us, whereas what luxury requires is gathered by many miseries and anxieties.
One of Seneca’s contemporaries put it this way:
“They just plunder the fields we have tended, sustaining themsevles off of our labors.”
I just refilled the large bird feeder outside my office window, but I’m just trying to buy their votes.
A mentor of mine (gone now, alas) said that laughing and crying amount to the same thing but it feels much better to laugh.
He was right.
“Tragedy is when I get a paper cut on my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”
— Mel Brooks
I ordered the “Daily Stoic” in hardback. I saw it on the Gyphon Editions (the FreedomFest bookstore) Amazon storefront and bought it.
Back to the work meeting….
Hope you like it.
This is actually on topic:
Daily Quordle 214
3️⃣9️⃣
5️⃣4️⃣
quordle.com
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨🟨⬜🟩🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜🟩🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
I am not being very stoic about upper right. Although I pulled LL and LR out of my ass.
Daily Quordle 214
4️⃣8️⃣
5️⃣6️⃣
Forcing people to pick a lawyer at random from the yellow pages is a stupid way to run a guild.
Yeah, you should contact the Guild Hall and have them assign whoever’s next up. Fairness!
Does this help?
https://www.avvo.com/
No state/local organization you can call for recommendations?
Best way to pick a lawyer is to throw darts at them.
And see who they hire to sue you?
Another good one, thanks Ron.
You’re Welcome
“Heraclitus would shed tears whenever he went out in public—Democritus laughed. One saw the whole as a parade of miseries, the other of follies. And so, we should take a lighter view of things and bear them with an easy spirit, for it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it.”
This is a particularly challenging one for me. My rage seems to never really go away. I know I pay more attention to the insanity than I should. It’s not healthy.
I’ll try laughing at all of it.
Great song choices, too! Tesla and Triumph are frequent companions in the weight room.
Thanks, Ron!
I was tired from all the extra activities this week and vented about subject in comments instead of my usual snark. Electric cars in particular drive me batty. I must get back my laughter. Also stop reading Zero Hedge so much.
My rage seems to never really go away. – have you considered a rampage ?
I hadn’t, but that’s not a bad idea.
Or maybe I’ll just go deadlift instead.
Underappreciated Stoic philosopher? http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Yj8TFP00qs/TZPFx60HSnI/AAAAAAAACcw/-dv8u9gpDms/s1600/pogo.jpg
That seems to be my biggest trigger.
When my boss tried to defend mandatory masking because of “cases” I could feel the instant spike in blood pressure.
That can’t be good for you.
Same as far as anger. And sure we can ‘check-out’ and ignore it to the degree we can and go about our lives. But the catch is, they don’t. They will keep coming. And then you look around you and think how the hell did we get here? And you might not have the ability to defend within the system anymore, nor live your life being left alone. And thinking through that train gets me even more pissed off. So maybe the key is “laugh” – still push back and with humility (you might actually be wrong; but I doubt it!) but do it while laughing internally and externally. I seem to be constitutionally unable to be good natured about it though.
#metoo
Yup.
Although the point is that our rage doesn’t change a damn thing.
Knowing that doesn’t make the “constitutionally incapable” part go away…
That said, if the anger can be turned to positive motivation to something constructive, perhaps getting angry can change something, at least in you such that you are motivated to engage in productive action that addresses the things that are causing rage. Being angry can be a very effective motivator. Especially if you can examine your anger, understand where it comes from and make sure it makes sense to be angry about whatever this thing is before dismissing it.
I’ve been trying a new approach to alleviate this because I feel it too. 10-15 minutes of meditation before bed where I really focus on centering myself. I’ve been trying to train my mind to focus on the immediate sensations in order to push out the things I can’t really control. So, instead of “that Tweet made me so mad” while I meditate I focus on “this piece of cloth feels soft” or “this muscle is kind of loose, I wonder if I can get it to relax.”
It forces me to focus on my immediate surroundings instead of worrying about some distant future or faraway place that I can’t control. I’ve been finding that it helps to reduce random spikes throughout the day.
I like it.
Thanks, Mustang!
Do what my father does.
Be dismissive of them. Treat them like idiots.
Of course, he treated his children the same way whenever they disagreed with him. *sigh*
Today’s music follows last week with more “Hair Metal” band that was actually good hard rock.
Big fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fAi8Jc2hrw
Peak Crue
This is Peak Crue, dammit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hihge6FFVw
Does this help?
Maybe.
Thx, Sean.
If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool – I would rather not be surounded by morons on a day to day basis but, as the great stoic philosopher Tim Dillon said, that’s life in the big city
“Whenever you take offense at someone’s wrongdoing, immediately turn to your own similar failings, such as seeing money as good, or pleasure, or a little fame—whatever form it takes. By thinking on this, you’ll quickly forget your anger, considering also what compels them—for what else could they
do? Or, if you are able, remove their compulsion.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 10.30
Easy to say when you are a flawed human, unlike me
Maybe if you tried in the original latine, you’d have an easier time of it.
Oh, I’m wondering something – do Romanians ‘speak with their hands’ (gesture effusively while talking) the way speakers of other romance languages do?
no
Thank you.
The hands are used to hold the cape in front of their face to hide the fangs.
“I went on a date with an italian woman. We had a lovely dinner and great conversation. After, when we went for a walk, I held her hand. She fell silent.”
Not everyone has had hundreds of years to improve themselves like you have.
More Dokken
I was never really a fan of the “power ballad”. But I have always liked this song.
I really loved Dokken back in the day, but it narrated some not-so-great memories, so now I stay away.
OT
George Foreman: Two women file lawsuits after accusing boxing champion of sexual abuse in 1970s
https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/62684153
what is the stoic position if you own a george foreman grill? throw it away or keep it?
Why would you get rid of it?
Even if he is 100% guilty, you’ve already paid for it and if you use it often, you will have to spend money to replace it.
I am not sue what it is, but I have heard of it before. I should google hoe much one costs
It’s basically a low rent electric pannini press with ridges.
Donno how much they cost.
I don’t know if they are any good.
I know he made a fortune with them, but do not know a single person that has one.
I have one, it’s just a small electric griddle that’s slanted slightly to drain grease. Works good.
True. I don’t have one either. I go outside and use a real grill.
We’ve had a couple, never an actual Foreman brand one, but exactly the same thing.
They’re handy when the weather makes grilling inconvenient.
GF got one when we were still apartment dwellers.
I’m pretty sure it’s still around, but I can’t recall the last time she used it.
She sure does love her instant pot though.
I’ve had several over the years. Last one was like $15 and worth every penny 🙄
After it fell apart, I went back to a panini press that I have.
Agreed. Getting rid of it is spiteful to yourself, which is a progressive trait.
Fuck that, Foreman’s a saint and an all around good guy. Back in the ‘70’s? Please…
What could possibly go wrong?
Maybe he got a little handsy after filming that Sanford and Son episode and having a bit too much Ripple (just kidding though, it’s almost certainly money grabbing bullshit).
1970? Isn’t there a time limit to this stuff? Even for civil suits?
Isn’t there a statute of limitations on this? Or is that why they are filing a lawsuit instead of bringing a criminal case?
Affidavit’s out, some of the pages live up to the redaction memes looks like:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-search-warrant-affidavit-has-been-released
It’s perfect.
That gives the harpies on The View something to point to, while still not saying anything real.
I particularly like the bit about moving trucks being at his house (supposedly to take documents away?) BACK IN JANUARY 2021
some of the pages live up to the redaction memes
Does it have more or less blackface than Trudeau?
So i looked at “the affidavit”
a little underwhelming. Its going to be an argument did he declassify them?
Who approves of the presidents time card?
My feeling as well. The president ultimately holds the power to declassify, according to many different legal opinions. So this comes down to the administrative state vs. presidential power.
The short answer to that is if the president does not have authority over his own agencies then we are well and truly fucked.
It’s hard to remain stoic when you are stoked.
I’m likely to buy a new (to me) motorcycle tomorrow. It’s one I’ve wanted for 20 years: A Yamaha FJR1300 with ABS.
It’s more than twice the displacement of my current scooter, yet should get the same gas mileage.
And most importantly, it’s blue.
Sweet!
Congrats, nick!
It’s fuel injected too. I won’t have to stop in the snow and lean out the carbs next time I take a Colorado pass at 14,00 feet!
Haha! Bonus!
Nice looking bike. What year?
2005
Twice the displacement?
Would it be uncouth of me to pull a life insurance policy on you?
Oh and congrats!
Wear a helmet.
always do.
🙂
A crotch rocket! You go, you frat boy, you! 😉
Ma’am, please! It’s a sport-touring motorcycle.
One of my bucket list items is to ride the dragon in Tennessee / North Carolina.
https://tailofthedragon.com/
I’ve done that many times, also ride the Cherohala Skyway on the other side of the valley. There was a decent BBQ place just before Tellico Plains, right by the river. The Blue Ridge parkway should be joined about 20 miles north of Cherokee If you are doing that.
I had one of these in the days… The “sportiest” of the sport tourers…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_GTS1000
On the way to Daytona with all of the camping gear my mate dubbed it the pregnant water buffalo. I switched to a CBR900RR that I still ride.
I had a Yamaha Virago 920. I loved that bike.
Me on my lil’ suzuki, thinking Im cool.
https://postimg.cc/4mbCg7tm
Very nice.
That’s a nice looking bike.
Let’s go to the TRUE BELIEVER HOT TAKES
https://democraticunderground.com/100217085654
Good framejob DOJ. Strange seeing supposedly hardcore Democrats sucking law enforcement dick but that’s where we are.
It’s not strange to me anymore. I’ve given up hope of reconciliation. This is going to play out.
Pmags on sale.
Just sayin.
Lancers on sale too.
Get the Lancers.
“and hiding the information that will destroy their case!”
As if they even needed to.
The FBI has been caught red-handed how many times now and nothing else happened?
We’ve been fucked for a long time. The hits just keep coming with a bit more frequency lately.
So it sounds like “Trump had top secret documents related to national security!” On The View that might sound very damning. But he had authority to declassify anything at will, and the document would still have Top Secret markings on it. If he was selling military secrets to China or something, why would he leave them in a supposedly “unsecure” location? And wouldn’t he have sold them before now? Like, when they were relevant? This just sounds like another “process” crime that isn’t being overlooked because of who he is.
We got him this time on unfiled paperwork.
::looks at papers strewn across desk::
Uh oh.
The walls are closing in, GT
It looks like that, but it’s really just more stacks of papers.
Old meme, polished up:
https://twitter.com/CryptoOnlyCoims/status/1562843005370789888
Perfect
That logo, though.
https://twitter.com/NoContextBrits/status/1561995583249940482
I’ll bet they are lining up depositors.
Londbn?
https://mobile.twitter.com/grandoldmemes/status/1563228011444736001/photo/1
Ha!
Man, the right rules with the memes. At least they do until they get deplatformed, framed, unjustly investigated, and then arrested.
And denied bail!
Don’t forget that one…
And thrown in solitary for a year and a half.
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1029310_big-brother-may-put-an-end-to-speeding-in-new-york
Emphasis added.
Why do people live there?
My study says children will be 5% happier if I receive free call-girl services for the remainder of my life.
It’s prettier upstate than you would think.
What’s the pentalty for ripping the system out and installing a crate motor?
The usual.
Exercise left for the reader: List the public sector unions whose members will be exempted.
So this asshole is content to allow the other 80% continue to die horribly in traffic accidents? If he truly cared about folks, he’d introduce legislation to lower the speed limit in NY to 15 mph and every car would have to be preceded by a person walking with a bright red flag (or solar powered lantern at night).