• About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Leadership
    • ADF: A Druid Fellowship
    • Photos
  • Services
  • Calendar
  • Resources & Social Justice
  • Membership
  • Blogs
    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
    • Rev. Badger's 2019 Stoic Blog
    • The Practical Bard (Rev. Missy's Blog)
    • Little Druid on the Prairie (Rev. Lauren's Blog)
  • Policies
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Leadership
    • ADF: A Druid Fellowship
    • Photos
  • Services
  • Calendar
  • Resources & Social Justice
  • Membership
  • Blogs
    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
    • Rev. Badger's 2019 Stoic Blog
    • The Practical Bard (Rev. Missy's Blog)
    • Little Druid on the Prairie (Rev. Lauren's Blog)
  • Policies
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
Mountain Ancestors Grove, ADF

A Year of Contemplation

If You Want to be Unsteady (Day 11)

1/11/2019

 
Avoiding the normal, everyday stresses of life, with the hopes of discovering inner-peace and happiness, is fruitless and, in truth, harmful to that inner-peace.

That’s like saying one is an accomplished martial artist… but they’ve only watched videos, hopped about their living room, never trained in a dojo/dojang/kwoon, or never been in an actual fight.


Essentially, one who was doing that would be deluding themselves, which is out of touch with reality, not a Stoic practice…


… and naught but a balm for one’s ego.


So, when we look through our mind’s eye, seeking images of serenity, and what arises in our inner-vision are Buddhist monks, tranquil mountainside temples, and remote retreat centers… we’re looking in the WRONG place for lasting, adamantine peace.


Look to the roadside. Traffic jams. Crying children. Never-ending piles of laundry. Look to moments washing dishes, or mowing the lawn. Look to the quotidian…


… because it is in these stressful (or just everyday) situations where inner-peace is needed most.


In my younger days, a friend of mine and I owned a dojang and we taught Hapkido/HanMuDo. I used to tell my students, “Train for the fight you’re going to be in, or at least the one you THINK you’ll be in.”


No matter where we flee to and conceal ourselves, challenges WILL find us. No matter what we’re faced with, it’s our
judgements of situations that create irritation or peace.


So, practice with diligence.

Judge with wisdom.

Act with virtue.
Repeat.

(See y’all tomorrow)


Comments are closed.

    About the Blog

    Awakening the desire to explore Stoicism, and how it relates to his existing beliefs, Rev. William committed to working through the text, The Daily Stoic, a year-long journey to awaken the Stoic mind. 
    How things are structured can be found in the first post. 

    About the Author

    Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rev. William attended Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where in 2007 he graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, minoring in Psychology. Currently residing in Longmont, CO, he is one of the Priests and founder of Mountain Ancestors Grove.  He spends his time playing mandolin (and some guitar), writing, engaging in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, community service, and sharing a larger vision of how a polytheist perspective can lead to greater human understanding, acceptance, and gods be good, peace. 

    Archives

    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.