I’m sure in 2019 most of us have heard the phrase, “You had ONE job!” used somewhere in the overculture, right? 

Well, according the Stoics, we do actually only have one job, and that’s to be a good person. The author of The Daily Stoic even goes so far as to name this job an obligation. Goodness, he must have NO idea the gargantuan volume of pagans who are utterly triggered by the very thought of being obligated to do anything beyond fulfilling their own desires. GASP!

Being a good person is a very long, continuous, and dedicated process of DOING… it’s not a singular moment. It’s not like, POOF! (Pouf! for the Witch Hazel fans out there. You know who you are.) Think smoldering fuse, and not the explosion. 

The challenge is in remembering not to muddle up the process with ego’s insidious machinations of telling us our job is something other than being a good person. 

“You had ONE job!” 

Play that sound bite in your head the next time you think your job is inventing excuses for NOT doing your job. 

(See y’all tomorrow - when we begin the month of Problem Solving)

Ever have that “spinning my wheels” feeling? That feeling like you’re workin’ your ass off in one spot, not getting anywhere… and that sounds like a great metaphor for digging ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole. 

Epictetus says that unless we know what someone is working towards, or why they’re doing it (and they’re virtuous reasons), the classification of “industriousness” can’t truly be used (Discourses, 4.4.41; 43). 

Just being “busy” doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing good, or that you’re producing meaningful results. It just means you’re busy. 

Could be that we’re just looking like we’re doing something… 

… which amounts to nothing. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

(Note: I understand the very real need for actual psychotherapy in the world, and am not advocating replacing it with physical labor. The title carries over from the original text, The Daily Stoic.) 

On Memorial Day (two days past), the Grove held space for a service project: yardwork. The side garden of our sacred outdoor space has been allowed to grow “wild like those druids” for a few years, and Rev. Bee finally got tired of looking at it. The ever-encroaching jungle of aspen sprouts and crocus plants, not to mention the branches of our guardian crabapple trees trying to hug our house and guests who gather in the backyard, had finally become too much… so we asked our congregation and supporters for help (because it was a LOT). 

They came, and we are grateful. 

Ours is a very cerebral, and ethics/philosophy-heavy church/ministry, and we’ve traditionally left the hands-on part up to the individual or family. It’s a good model for ceremonial efficiency, but I see now that it leaves out something very crucial to the human experience: working together. What came out of this project is that each of those folx who had their sweat dripped into the land, and the hands deep in the dirt, and the scent of the earth in their noses… they are now more invested in their church, and are more healthy-of-spirit because of it. 

Work heals. 

I’m not talking about thinking-or-feeling as work. I’m talking about physical bodies in meatspace doing physical labor. 

I’m talking about engaged and embodied orthopraxy. 

It’s the DOING of right-doing. 

The small doings are easy… the lighting of lamps and candles, the tossing of coins, the igniting of incense, the casting of runestaves. But what about the doings that break a sweat? The digging of holes, the hammering of nails, the climbing of ladders, the physical bits that are usually reserved for those wearing blue collars… we need to do work that gets us back into our bodies in a big way. Not topically, but deeply. 

Like my friends in the Zen community say: Chop wood, carry water. 

Before, and after we’re enlightened or awakened… in other words: 

Always. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

According to Marcus Aurelius, there are two things we need to accomplish before taking action (Meditations, 8.5).

The first: exercise calm. Amor Fati, and take solace in what is. No need to get off-center… it is what it is. Be cool. 

The second: Employ our principles of virtue-based existence. Summum Bonum (lat. - for the greater good). In other words, know what is the right thing to do. 

Finally… do it. 

Easy to say. Difficult to consistently do. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

​“A lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep.” 
― Tywin Lannister in George R.R. Martin’s, A Game of Thrones

“The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.”
― Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“I have never entered into any controversy in defense of my philosophical opinions; I leave them to take their chance in the world. If they are right, truth and experience will support them; if wrong, they ought to be refuted and rejected. Disputes are apt to sour one's temper and disturb one's quiet.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“It's not simply to say, 'My colleagues are wrong, and I would do it this way,' but the greatest dissents do become court opinions.”
― Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Care about people’s approval, and you will always be their prisoner.”
― Lao Tzu

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
― Dr. Seuss

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

(See y’all tomorrow) 

​(Written on 5/26/2019)

So… yeah… this is the first time I missed posting my blog on the right and proper day. 

I hope my absence did not negatively affect your own quest for joy, and that my one-to-three regular readers will allow me to thank them for their patience. 

Looking back on things, I could say that I was out finding my own joy… because I was. I spent an 8 hour day involved in some martial training, and although broken and sore the next day, I’m filled with joy. 

So many folx believe that Stoicism is about being emotionless, or not allowing ourselves luxuries, or living a life bereft of joy or mirth. Definitely not true. 

Stoicism is about using our inherent ability to fine tune our human experience so we are our most authentic selves, and DOING what we’re supposed to be doing… 

… because it’s in this space that dwells the sincerest of emotions, the most luxurious of luxuries, and ultimately, true joy. 

(See y’all tomorrow… oh… wait… later on today.) 

When I was sixteen, I took drivers’ education in high school. I remember my road instructor, Coach Ronnie Cornick, using a phrase whenever we’d be at a light and the person in front of us didn’t take off quick enough, or when I was too tentative to pull into the flow of traffic, or when any opportunity to be a part of the steady flow of traffic wasn’t taken full advantage of. Coach Cornick would always say: fortune favors the bold… usually barked at me, or out the window at another driver. 

What sixteen year old me took away from those teachable moments was the lesson: waiting on the blessings of fortune (opportunity) will cause you to accomplish nothing but waiting. 

Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat: latin for “Fortune favors the bold”... mostly. 

Literally, it’s more like “The goddess Fortuna helps those who are strong.” 

(Latin scholars: please refrain from pontificating on my post. Start your own blog and write about Rev. Badger's shitty latin translations. Like the title says... MAKE YOUR OWN)

If we’re doing our part, and that part usually requires a LOT more work than we originally planned for, Fortuna will help us… because the truth of the matter is this: 

Fortune only nudges things a degree or two.

The rest is entirely up to us. See, if we weren’t already doing the work, those couple degrees wouldn’t make an ounce of difference, but if we’re working our asses off, that little bump could make all the difference in the world. 

This understanding is reflected in how I engage in a pious life. People are usually surprised at how little I pray for myself and my family. I tell them my energy is better spent doing the physical work to accomplish goals, helping my family grow confident and strong... and not by throwing offerings and words into the void, especially when I’m not doing my part. 

I tend to make a lot more gratitude offerings. Gratitude for the strength, fortitude, and perseverance it took to achieve our goals. 

After all, this isn’t Christianity. This isn’t a vending machine of divine favors. Frankly, that's not what I want my religious experience to be. 

It’s work. Good, old fashion, hard work. 

Once the work piece is done, the real blessing is seeing how the fortune we’ve been blessed with doesn’t come from beyond ourselves… it comes from within. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

I’ve sat with this one for the morning, and I’m not sure it’s so much about how to live as it’s about when to live. 

Here’s what I’m talking about: 

The past only lives in memory, and because of that truth, it’s not in the here-and-now physical space, and cannot be affected by any amount of work. 

The future is all make-believe and fantasy, no matter how focused, or pleasant, or troubling… it’s 100% made up. 

We can really only live in the moment, the here-and-now. 

By tirelessly taking FULL advantage of each moment, at the end of things you’ll be surprised to find that the life you’ve made for yourself is pretty remarkable. 

Get to it. I want to be able to congratulate you in the afterlife. 

(See y’all tomorrow… but I’d rather you be in the now) 

​Ya know… no one tells themselves they’re not gonna do the thing they want to do, right? 

What typically happens is we decide we’re gonna do the thing… and we’ll start tomorrow. 

See the problem?