We must neither have trivial relationships, nor relationships with trivia. - Me ;) 

Imagine if the police went about arresting or fining citizens for not having watched the latest episode of Game of Thrones, or maybe for failing a field ”information” test by not being up to speed on the daily, hour-by-hour news. Imagine the existence of laws enforcing the obligation of knowing the most, local, intersectional, socially-appropriate current event. 

These come off as absurd, no? 

In an age of ultra-connectedness, where the world’s information rides around in our pockets, purses, and bags, being able to say “I don’t know” is one of the most important skills we can develop. 

Why? 

Because, at some point in our cultural development, it became a social and ethical “imperative” to be up to speed on all current events, every episode of the hip movies and television shows, as well as the most microscopic element of the news, and goings-on in every corner of the globe... 

(Here it comes… get ready…) 

… all to appear worldly and informed. 

To appear. To seem. To come across as… (See where this is going?) 

When it’s more important to APPEAR worldly and informed by MEDIA-ing (also, read as erudite hobbyist-scholasticism) than it is to BE worldly and informed because of DO-ing (also, read as getting dirty hands, bloody noses, and tear-stained faces), then it’s about ego. 

​How much would the quality of our sleep improve, or how mindful could we be if we weren’t swimming in our own righteous indignation around every breaking headline, or possible calamity (many of which in no way happen)?

Like in the silly examples at the beginning of this post, there’s no obligation to “stay on top of everything”, so why are we engaging in this exhaustive practice? 

I know why I did it for many years of my life: because, as the kid who was constantly told how stupid I was by my mom, I didn’t want to look stupid at the family gatherings. I became learned to protect my ego from her abuse… it didn’t work. It never works.

So… why are you doing it? 

*mindful pause… now, breathe… and breathe again…*

(See y’all tomorrow)

Overthinking. Not simple.

Quite the opposite, actually. 

I’ve gotten “feedback” on some past posts I’ve made on the Facebook page of the religious order to which I belong… and this feedback consisted of utter and absolute disagreement with the idea of overthinking. Something to the effect of, “Ummm… excuse me, Reverend, ya CAN’T over-think anything. Everything is worth as much thinking as possible. Think, think, THINK!” 

Hmmm… I can’t say I remember a time that I’ve ever disagreed with something more. 

One of my favorite ways to get back to the moment when I’m overthinking is to remember a story shared by my wife. Rev. Missy often tells the story of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and how she prevented overthinking. Mother Teresa was constantly faced with the suffering of people; hundreds and thousands of people who were sick, dying, aged and withered. Every. Single. Day. 

Overwhelming, no? 

Her solution to the sheer volume of humanity arose from the first moment she stepped into her vocation in Calcutta. As a young nun, arriving on the Calcutta streets, she saw all the tears, heard all the moans, and smelled all the odors of illness… and could have VERY easily been swept away in the moment. 

Instead, she decided to, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

Worrying about numbers, what’s next, what came before… all of those less-than-simple approaches take us out of the present, and it’s in the present moment where EVERYTHING is happening. If we’re not in the present, we’re in our heads, not in the world. 

So what do Stoics say about all this simplicity and overthinking? 

Well, Marcus Aurelius says that we need to have a “sturdy mind” focused on “the task at hand”, and in the doing of things, we need to do them with, “strict and simple dignity, affection, freedom, and justice - giving (ourselves) a break from all other considerations.” According to the Imperial Marcus, we are to, “approach each task as if it were (our) last” and surrender all “distraction, emotional subversion of reason, and all drama, vanity, and complaint over (our fate).” (Meditations, 2.5)

Whether we come at our simplicity through the door of compassion, reason, virtue, or obligation, come at it we must. 

In closing, let me share how I come at “simplicity”. Due to my decades-long exposure to and practice of Japanese (and Korean) traditional martial arts, I’ve come to appreciate many of the cultural elements of Japan… especially a type of beauty-aesthetic that comes from there. It’s comprised of (to me) three core elements: Kanso (簡素 - simplicity), Shibui (渋い - a sort of austere elegance), and Seijaku (静寂 - tranquility, silence). 

It’s in the spirit of simple, tranquil, austere elegance that I try to approach the world, and this, to me, equates to an existence which is quotidian, dignified, balanced, focused, and which embraces fate… 

… just like Marcus Aurelius advises. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

Marcus Aurelius counsels us to keep a close eye on those we consider wise. Check out what they, “... run away from and what they seek out.” (Meditations, 4.38)

Seneca said something to the effect of, “Without a ruler to use, you cannot make the crooked straight.” (Letters to Lucilius, XI, On the Blush of Modesty, 10)

WWJD? Sure. Why not? :) 

So, part of our own individual wisdom practice is looking to those who we understand to be good, wise, kind, or who emulate the actions and qualities we would like to display ourselves. 

Role models. Check. Heroes. Hmmm… maybe. Are they wise?

One of the things I do when sitting with the topics of contemplation from The Daily Stoic is check out other folx who have gone through this work, too. A post I came across this morning was about how today’s practice of “Watching the Wise” was not appropriate, and instead, one should forge one’s own path, and don’t do anything how someone else has already done it… but, I believe the author missed the point. 

It’s not about doing EXACTLY what someone else did. It’s about watching how they deal with their failures, and how they treat their successes. When they aspire, are they humble, and if so, how… if not, why?

The author approaches the “Watching the Wise” practice, at first, with Superheroes… again, missing the mark. It’s not about superpowers… it’s about the quotidian moments where we have felt like being less-than-virtuous, and we think of one of our role models and we have the strength to then act virtuously. 

Not to mention, it’s VERY healthy in defeating one’s ego to put oneself in the position of student, and it’s that same ego that will avoid feedback (or learning at the hands of someone else) at all costs. After all… 

“It is impossible to learn that which one thinks one already knows.” - Epictetus (Discourses, Book II, ch. 17)

If we think we don't need role models, then there's not much else we can be taught... for our hubris is in the way. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

Epictetus breaks down three areas of training for our spirit and character. (Discourses, 3.2.1-3a) 

First, we examine our desires and our aversions. In seeking to live the virtuous life, we have to be clear that the things which we desire need to be “good” and the things that we repel need to be “bad”. Why? Because our powerful egos have the uncanny ability to get us to desire that which isn’t good for us, and cast aside that which is good for us. 

Essentially, fine tune our attractions, because they can lead us astray. 

Next, we focus our contemplations on what motivates us to act. Are the things we are doing being done for the right reasons? Are we acting without mindfulness? Are we doing things out of habit (we’ve discussed this in an earlier post)? Do we believe we HAVE to do something (the gods told me to do it, or the clue-by-four)?

Why we do what we do is as important as actually doing it. 

Finally, our judgement. We have to invest in the greatest gift nature has blessed humans with: our REASON. Without a strong “reason engine” the above two are virtually impossible, or at the very least, exposed to being infected by self-delusion. 

Without a well-honed mind, we can easily convince ourselves that right is wrong, wrong is right, and that other core elements of reality are not what they are. 

Sounds like madness, no?

Remember, January’s practice is to awaken the need, and to acquire the skills for clarity in our perceptions. 

Ego is insidious. It is NOT helping us, ever. It serves itself…

… and so does the undisciplined, untrained spirit. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

What IS happiness? Like, what are the building blocks of “happiness”? 

Freedom? Self-sufficiency? Liberation from passions? 

Getting what we want? Stuff? 

Well shoot, it can’t be “stuff” or getting what we want… since those things come with some inherent problems: 

Envy. Jealousy. Suspicions toward those who can take from you, and the neurotic need to plot against those who have what you desire. 

Not very happy thoughts and emotions, right? 

But, like everything, we experience the reality of happiness, or lack thereof, through our minds… and treating your mind as the greatest treasure, the greatest prize you could ever have, blesses you with the gift of perspective. 

Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (ZT”L) said, “Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have.” (The Real Enjoyment of Living - p. 37)

To do that, we must answer the question: What matters to us? 

What if what mattered to us had no connection to the material world? What would that look like? What does happiness look like when it’s not based on things that can be taken away or lost? 

If we learn to care about things that are either below our financial means, or things that are not connected to finances at all, we can continue to be happy in a way that is, foundationally, strong. 

The more we desire, the more we have to do to acquire those objects of our desire… and what’s left is a “life” we’ve no time to enjoy, and the illusion of the freedom to enjoy that fictitious life. 

Prioritize. 

Be clear about the nature of happiness, and its cost. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

Marcus Aurelius says that from his teacher, Quintus Junius Rusticus, he“... learned to read carefully and not be satisfied with a rough understanding of the whole, and not to agree too quickly with those who have a lot to say about something.” (Meditations 1.7.3)

According to Paul Johnson, acclaimed historian and biographer, one should read books, “... as if the author were on trial for (their) life.” (Intellectuals) 

Lots of modern pagan and polytheist folx believe themselves to be pursuing this kind of deep understanding, myself included. But, are we? 

To what teachers and authors do we “give a pass”? Who do we accept the word of without critical examination? What teachings do we get lost in because they serve our own internal agendas? 

Scholars? Religious leaders? Organizational leaders? 

We must seek to deepen not only our understanding of study material, but of ourselves as well. 

No one wants to be a rube, or a sucker, or a bumpkin, hayseed, or hick, or a hillbilly, or a yokel, right? 

I know I don’t. 

But… don’t the words “pagan” and “heathen” mean exactly those things mentioned above? 

Hmmm… *returns to seeking deeper understanding*

(See y’all tomorrow) 

I used to work in the smarthome/AV industry, and as such, have had the opportunity to be in some of the most opulent homes in Colorado. Millionaires, billionaires, NBA players, NHL legends, tech giants, etc… in short, these folx had an incredible amount of financial resources. 

However, I also got a chance to get a peek behind the curtains of their envious lives… and what I saw was failing relationships and divorces, sudden deaths of spouses, children with impossible birth defects, ongoing health problems, and all the same maladies that the rest of us suffer every day. 

The only difference was that these folx had the financial resources to not have to worry about quotidian things like medical care, mortgages and rent, utility and food bills, car repairs, emergency travel, etc… essentially, all the things that we need to live in a modern/capitalist/Western society.

I say “the only difference” but, when we pan the camera back, we see that the “only” difference is a HUGE difference. 

 If you don’t believe this to be true, at the time I’m writing this, our church is in the middle of collecting donations for a community member who cannot get access to life-saving medical equipment. No applicable insurance. No rainy-day money. No nest-egg. Nothing. Anything this person had was spent when deciding “do I want clean water in my home, OR reliable hot water, OR functioning central heat.” 

Note: I didn’t say AND… I said OR. Of those three things, they got to choose ONE. 

Seneca, one of the richest men in Rome, noted, “... how often the occasion (the rich) look just like the poor.” (On Consolation to Helvia, 12. 1.b-2) To Seneca I say this: 

Give me a freakin’ break, man. 

This is the social/fiscal equivalent of “all lives matter”, and the “1%” telling the “99%” that if they just pulled themselves up by their bootstraps they’d be able to get ahead. Essentially, what we’re seeing is a blindness to the reality of things, and Stoics are ALL about tuning in to reality. 

Yes, yes… gravity, age, death, and illness affects us all, but when we have the resources to address the circumstances that surround those common themes, we can focus on things above the “Basic Needs” level of Maslow’s pyramid. 

Since the time of Seneca, an understanding of the nuances of wealth disparities has become more clear. 

External things (like money and material possessions) cannot fix internal issues, but we can’t even get to address the internal issues when we’re struggling for the basics (food, water, shelter, safety, security). 

Seneca is asserting that the only difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich simply have more money. Yes… that is true, AND those resources, and the security those resources give, can disappear at any moment for various and sundry reasons. 

And yet, in the moment, the subjective, LIVED EXPERIENCE of wealth disparity is more “true” than the objective truth about money. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

When I checked to see what today’s meditation was, I was happy to discover it was this particular practice. 

Why? Because when I started clergy training, I adopted the practice of morning and evening reflections through the lens of Norse/Germanic runes. I’d draw a stave in the morning, reflect on its nature, and try to view the events of my day through that rune’s lens. In the evening, I’d draw another stave and reflect/consider the day’s past events through the lens of the new rune. 

This practice became very special to me, and the results of this work have stayed with me longer than most other lessons. So impactful are these morning and evening times of reflection, I’ve kept the practice going long after completing the training part of the work. 

Seneca committed to keeping, “... constant watch over (himself) and - most usefully - (putting) each day up for review.” He offers that “evil” originates because of the lack of self-reflection, and chastises the practice of only looking forward, even though our future plans all originate from the past. (Moral Letters, 83.2) 

Some days are easy. Some are difficult. Some begin one way and end in another. 

The practice is what matters, not the flavor of the day. 

(See y’all tomorrow)