When one examines one’s life we tend to dwell on our failures, mistakes, and foibles. Seldom does one sit down during an examination and list accomplishments, successes, etc. We should all learn from Quarterbacks. (Oh my gosh Hubbell, not another football analogy!). The great quarterbacks have a unique ability during a game, a season, or…
A Self That Goes On Living
A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living. — Virginia Woolf. As I get older, I find I resist change more and more. Change makes me uncomfortable, yet uncomfortable is exactly what I need. When I meditate on my resistance to change, I think my attraction to permanency and stability is…
Ten Steps More
I asked my physical therapist how much I should walk in the afternoon, expecting him to say “as far as you can go.” Instead he asked, “how far did you go yesterday?’ I told him two blocks up the street and two blocks back, but I felt I could go further. He said, “if you…
Let Go of What We Can’t Control
Stoicism says we should stake our well-being on what we can control and let go of any attachment to what we cannot. There are many forms this philosophy takes all concluding that we should avoid worrying about or being anxious about what we can’t control. Examples include: events, opinions or behavior of others, or whatever…
Who Judges An Examined Life?
I think I told everyone that I am reading a book called The Practicing Stoic. Seems like people have been writing about stoicism since the early Greeks. Last night, as I read this week’s chapters I thought about all the pages in print that are devoted to improving oneself. Then beyond that, how much of our economy…