A lady almost fell over.
She was walking a bit ahead of me as we were going to pick up our kids from a nature camp (these "camps" that are like 3 hours are not actually camps! In my day...).
Anyway, so she is walking and the terrain is not the smoothest. Granted neither of us were using the paved path from the parking lot to the pickup area that was, ya know, like 5 feet to our right. But it soon became clear that she should have.
So she isn't really looking where she is going and nearly breaks her ankle on a pile of mid-sized rocks that were on the grass divide between parking areas. She puts on the "what the hell was that!?!" face as she looks back at the pile of rocks in contempt. She was mad at the rocks. And then (I am making some small assumptions here), she internally starts thinking that the nature center should not have these rocks where people are clearly going to be walking!
Then she started thinking about good lawyers she knows, the medical bills she would have had to incur if it weren't for her sporadic yoga workouts that have undoubtedly strengthened the cartilage and ligaments in her ankle. But nevertheless, this whole rock situation could have been an absolute nightmare!
OK I made a number of larger assumptions.
But that is a path that we all go down. The internal dialogue we have. The blame we look to assign. The tragedy that hasn't occurred but could occur and must be feared.
But that is where an intentional mindset comes into play. The more reminders we get (such as these emails) that we are in control of our mindset, of the dialogue we have with ourselves, of the fact that pointing fingers get us nowhere, of the fact that we all need to hold ourselves personally accountable for everything we do and say. Aurelius says "if it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it."
So, don't be mad at the rocks. The rocks are just there. You know the rocks are there. When you come across the rock, act like a logical person that encounters a rock. And sure, do some yoga anyway.
We are all in search of feeling more connected to reality—to other people, the times we live in, the natural world, our character, and our own uniqueness. Our culture increasingly tends to separate us from these realities in various ways. We indulge in drugs or alcohol, or engage in dangerous sports or risky behavior, just to wake ourselves up from the sleep of our daily existence and feel a heightened sense of connection to reality. In the end, however, the most satisfying and powerful way to feel this connection is through creative activity. Engaged in the creative process we feel more alive than ever, because we are making something and not merely consuming, Masters of the small reality we create. In doing this work, we are in fact creating ourselves.
— -- Robert Greene, Mastery
Stop what you're doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won't be able to do 'this' anymore?
— – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
I don’t know what’s going to happen; but I do know what’s capable of happening – and none of this will give rise to any protest on my part. I’m ready for everything. I know that anything is capable of happening so also do I know that it’s not bound to happen. So I look for the best and I’m prepared for the opposite.
— – Seneca, Letters from a Stoic
Rads Take
"In doing this work, we are in fact creating ourselves." Love it.
Consuming versus creating. Do we need more stuff though to ingest, watch, read? Do I need to be writing this newsletter? Do you need it? No.
But most things born out of creativity do not need to exist. But for the creator, it is their way of satisfying something inside them. That's what this is for me. The issue is that most folks don't get to it. "If you want to be a painter, paint. If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to be a _______, _______." Apply it to anything.
You tap into your inherent creativity by pursuing that which you "want" to be. But most folks do not take the accountability to create.
But just start. You'll be more proud of yourself to have done something than reject doing it out of fear of failure or knowing that your craft isn't perfected. That said, hold me to a piano video in the next newsletter...
That first quote weaves beautifully into the second one -- intentionality in how you are spending your time. A lot of Holiday's videos touch on this quote. Appreciate the present moment by creating something you are proud of, by spending time with someone you care for, by finding meaning even in difficult times. These are what Frankl cites as the 3 true purposes of life in Man's Search for Meaning.
As we think about those folks that have passed, think about how much they would want to be in our shoes (no matter where those shoes are) and what they would be doing if they were. Would they be scrolling, fighting with people they care about, binging The Gilded Age (listen, I have watched Lost too many times so the mirror is right in my face here) or would they driving toward a goal and telling the ones they care about that they care about them?
Frankl also said "Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now. Imagine first, that the present is past and second, that the past may yet be changed and amended."
It is intentionality with your thoughts and actions. Which then leads to the externals and the third quote from Seneca. Which if you ask me as I re-read it here, a bit boastful and haughty and impossible. He does not know all that is capable of happening. Or does he? Do we?
We are living in a time of unprecedented change and the next 5 years will be quite remarkable. What is the time horizon on knowing what is capable of happening? How much have you thought about what could happen and the chances of that thing happening? And then what you would do if/when that thing happens?
Would you perceive that event as good or bad? Or would you perceive it as an external event that occurred for you to turn to your favor with your creativity regardless?
Look for the best, prepare for the opposite.
And forward this to someone that might enjoy it! Never hurts to bring on another Rad Stoic.