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    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
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    • Little Druid on the Prairie (Rev. Lauren's Blog)
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Mountain Ancestors Grove, ADF

A Year of Contemplation

The Glass is Already Broken (Day 326)

11/22/2019

 
Picture
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

Fortune falls heavy on those for whom she’s unexpected.
​The one always on the lookout easily endures.”

Seneca, On Consolation to Helvia, 5.3

Story time! 

Long ago, there was once a master of the disciplined mind who had a treasured earthenware vessel from which she’d take all her beverages. Whenever using the vessel, or walking past it on the curio shelves, or talking about it with guests, deep within her mind, she’d say to herself, “It is already broken.” Then, as one would expect, that fateful day came and the prized vessel of the master fell, and shattered into a thousand thousand pieces. Upon seeing the brokenness of what was once her treasured vessel, the master simply said, “Ah, yes. There it is.”

See, the master was not shocked because she accepted the facts and the reality of the situation from the beginning of her relationship with the vessel: 

Earthenware vessels are fragile. 
Earthenware vessels are meant to be used. 
One cannot control anything other than oneself. 
Gravity works. Every time. 

The amount of peace and calm we experience when things go pear-shaped is proportional to the amount of time we’ve spent considering the realities of what could possibly go pear-shaped prior to that moment. 

The more we accept and amor our fati, the more peace we have. 
The more we premeditatio on the malorum stuff, oddly enough, the more peace we have. 
The more we memento our own mori, the more peace we have. 

We, like the glass, are already broken. Accepting that fact will help us not be trapped by it. 

What, then, will we do with all that time prior to breaking? 

(See y’all tomorrow)

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    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. 

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