Prep 101
A handsome little book came my way recently. The Pocket Stoic by John Sellars simplifies the ideas of Greek philosopher Epictetus, writer/teacher Seneca, advisor to Nero, who ordered him to commit suicide; and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. I was leery that it might be simply a cynical attempt to make money on sort of Cliff Notes. I gave it a shot and was rewarded. It is a guide for living, providing common sense views. Modern English defines “stoic” as unfeeling, without emotion. The author argues that stoics wished to avoid negative emotions such as anger, resentment, impatience, not positive ones. Here’s an excerpt: “Epictetus proposes thinking of your life as if you were an actor in a play. You haven’t chosen your role, you don’t get to decide what happens, and you have no control over how long it will last. Rather than fight all these things that are out of your control, your task is to play the role you find yourself in as best you can.” And: “Marcus Aurelius repeatedly reminds himself that Nature is in a continual process of change, nothing is stable, and there is nothing he can do about it. All we can do is accept what happens that is not within our control, while focusing our efforts on those that are.” Also from Epictetus, something that I’ve found very true: “If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation.” Seneca says: “The good persons treats all adversity as a training exercise.” From Aurelius: “Once we grasp that something was inevitable, we shall see that bemoaning it is pointless and simply displays a failure to grasp how the world works.” Seneca: “…it’s absurd that someone might be so protective of their money and possessions and yet so freely give away their far more valuable time.” I’m not sure if the following is from Epictetus or the author: “Everything that we have and that we love is merely on loan.” As I read I wondered if the book were an omen about the election, and that I should not let a Trump loss affect me negatively, although I believe the left would lead America on a disastrous path. I, 70, am on loan and it would be foolish of me not to view each of my remaining days as a gift. I hope I’m now prepared for a Trump defeat. The prose is solid except for the politically correct use of “their” rather than his, her or one. Only a single user at Amazon has rated The Pocket Stoic, which is a part of a series by The University of Chicago Press. The person gave it four stars on a scale of five. I will do the same.
Here’s an interesting headline from foxnews.com: “Twitter, Facebook have censored Trump 65 times compared to zero for Biden, study says.”
Here’s a snippet about Sweden from an FN article: “Statistics from the European Union, published this month, pointed to an infection rate of roughly 38 cases per 100,000 people. In the U.K. and Spain, which have far more stringent measures in place, it is 87 and 320, respectively.” Still too soon to call, but Sweden may have been the smartest country regarding the pandemic.
Business as usual this past weekend in the Windy City. At least 32 shot, six fatally.
Phil Mickelson is now two-for-two in starts on the senior PGA tour. He must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Here’s a headline from Yahoo Sports that may presage future shakedowns: “Former Black Iowa players demand $20 million, Kirk Ferentz’s job after alleged racial issues.” Reparations?
My thanks to the woman who bought out my entire inventory of Danielle Steel, 10 paperbacks, English, Russian; and to the one who purchased six books in Russian; and to the young man who took a lot of weight off my hands, selecting Tom Clancy’s Debt of Honor, Stephen King’s The Green Mile and Wizard and Glass, a chemistry textbook, and Rendezvous with Oblivion: Reports from a Sinking Society by Thomas Frank; and to Wolf, who chose Michael Connelly’s The Last Coyote and a Sidney Sheldon translation in Russian; and to the home attendant of the Brainiac Brothers, who delivered four works of non-fiction; and to Gary, who donated several classics in paperback, including his high school copy of 1984. The cover seems salacious despite the “Anti-sex League” button the buxom woman is wearing.
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