Category: Journal

Better performed than read.

Henry Rollins

Wes Eisold

Chad Gilbert

Aaron Bedard

W.H. Auden

To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,
To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,
To honor his own word as if his god’s,
To lead sweet lives in purest chastity,
To love one maiden only, cleave to her,
And worship her by years of noble deeds….

Porcelain hope…
Why do you always break on me?
(It all makes no sense to me)
Porcelain hope…
Why do you always break on me?
Porcelain hope…
You’re not much, but you’re all I got
Porcelain hope…
You’re not much, but you’re all I got

It is to strange thing to grow up without a mirror in your room, as I have. Since I was not able to vainly observe my body on a frequent basis I believe I became naturally detached from physicality. Life must have been fundamentally different for the ancients, considering only the wealthy had access to mirrors and even then, they were simple works of reflective metal, not like the refined glass mirrors we know today.

It is a strange experience to see my full body in a mirror and the immediate reaction is disgust followed by a peculiar sort of amusement. Much like the ugly Socrates I find myself with the body of a Silenus and it comes as a surprise, for I have never had a mirror in my room, my own exposure to mirrors coming from a small bathroom one, which only reveals the upper chest and face. “A life without mirrors” seems an absurd notion to any contemporary westerner but looking back on it, the number of times I have seen myself in full can be counted on two hands.

This has had, I think, a profound impact on my psychology, as I have always disregarded matters of appearance as superfluous at best, finding actions and thoughts to be much more worthy disciplines to master.

Alas, my lantern has run out of oil.

Those who speak and then act on their words.
Those who believe in what they profess to believe and do not pretend to know things which they do not.
Those who value conviction, virtue, honor, integrity, passion and principled action
Those who desire less and take comfort in simple pleasures; those who prefer the companionship of honest friends to displays of decadent and self-indulgent excess
Those who value uncompromising sobriety, steadiness of temper and with it: reasoned wisdom
Those who feel an affinity for temperance, prudence, justice and courage
Those who love knowledge and learn for the sake of learning, not to get a degree, not to pass a test, not to become an “informed consumer”
Those who value intelligence, brutally honest conversation and the rejection of things which are irrational
Those who love purely, truly and sincerely
Those with something to die for and duties to live for
Those who do not speak unless there is something to say
Those who crush injustice when they see it and do not tolerate slander, degeneration or depravity, who do not pull friends down but raise them up to their full potential
Those who feel sick to their stomach when they hear about how so-and-so seduced and then abandoned/abused so-and-so, those who feel inspired to be ever the more magnanimous, just, charitable and loving after hearing it
Those who feel a flame burning deep inside
Those who understand where these words come from

The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command

I’m drawing words from a tired heart
I’m drawing blood from a tired heart

As for us, common men to whom heaven has not allotted such great talents and destined for so much glory, let us remain in our obscurity. Let us not run after a reputation which would elude us and which, in the present state of things, would never give back to us what it would cost, even if we had all the qualifications to obtain it. What good is it looking for our happiness in the opinion of others if we can find it in ourselves? Let us leave to others the care of instructing people about their duties, and limit ourselves to carrying out our own well. We do not need to know any more than this.

O virtue! Sublime science of simple souls, are so many troubles and trappings necessary for one to know you? Are your principles not engraved in all hearts, and in order to learn your laws is it not enough to go back into oneself and listen to the voice of one’s conscience in the silence of the passions? There you have true philosophy. Let us learn to be satisfied with that, and without envying the glory of those famous men who are immortalized in the republic of letters, let us try to set between them and us that glorious distinction which people made long ago between two great peoples: one knew how to speak well; the other how to act well.

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We suffer a lot in our society from loneliness. So much of our life is an attempt to not be lonely: ‘Let’s talk to each other; let’s do things together so we won’t be lonely.’ And yet inevitably, we are really alone in these human forms. We can pretend; we can entertain each other; but that’s about the best we can do. When it comes to the actual experience of life, we’re very much alone; and to expect anyone else to take away our loneliness is asking too much.

– Ajahn Sumedho

Three compelling and succinct summaries of the Stoic practice, preserved for the sake of posterity.

Dr. Jan Garret:

1. The key to successful living (sometimes called happiness) is freedom from the violent feelings.
2. The key to freedom from the violent feelings is living in accordance with virtue.
3. The key to virtue is living consistently in agreement with nature.
4. The things called good by most people, such as life, health, possessions, good reputation, and the like, are often in accord with our nature.
5. But they are not consistently in accord with our nature, as they are sometimes purchased or preserved at the expense of a person’s integrity.
6. Virtue and successful living are not inborn but result from deliberate choice and continuous attention to what is in our power and what is not.

Paul Lecorde:

1. One to live in accord with Nature; worldly Nature and human nature.
2. The Unity of All; all gods; all substance; all virtue; all mankind into a Cosmopolis (Universal City).
3. That the external world is maintained by the natural interchange of opposites (poioun / yin, paskhon / yang)
4. That everyone has a personal, individual connection to the All; a god within.
5. That every soul has Free Will to act and that the action of the soul is opinion.
6. Simple Living through moderation and frugality.
7. That spiritual growth comes from seeking the good.
8. That Virtue is the sole good, Vice the sole evil, and everything else indifferent.
9. That the Cardinal Virtues are Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.
10. That the path to personal happiness and inner peace is through the extinguishing of all desire to have or to affect things beyond ones control and through living for the present without hope for or fear of the future; beyond the power of opinion.
11. The sequential reabsorption and recreation of the Universe by the Central Fire; the Conflagration.

Dr. Gordon L. Ziniewicz:

1. The overall purpose or Summum Bonum or reason for living: Apatheia, serenity or mental tranquillity, peace of mind, one’s own reason in accord with universal reason.
2. The universe is governed by intelligence, and everything happens as it should. Do not ask that the universe conform to your will; conform your will to the universe.
3. The universe as a whole is good. Every event has its place in the scheme of things. No event is good or bad. Events (like sickness, death, impoverishment) appear bad to persons who expect things to conform to their wishes and are disappointed. Be calm in the face of what has been destined (fated).
4. Do not be disturbed by anything that happens to you. External events are outside of your control.
5. Do not desire anything. Rid yourself of the “will to get.”
6. Do not try to avoid the inevitable and the fated. Rid yourself of the “will to avoid” those things that are outside of your power.
7. “Will to avoid” only those things that are under your control. Only things under your control can be called good or evil. “Will to avoid” those thoughts, impulses, desires, and judgments which enslave you to external things or which are disturbing.
8. Be your own master. Depend on nothing outside of yourself. Nature gives and nature takes away. External goods do not last. Depend only on your reason, which is a spark of divine reason.
9. Do not depend upon other people. Do not become so attached to other people that you cannot be happy without them. Know that even your spouse and children are human beings, are mortal.
10. Help others in need. Treat all persons equally. Give them food and shelter if they need it. Stay with them when they are grieving; grieve outwardly with them, if need be. But do not grieve on the inside. Do not let their disturbance make you disturbed. Do not feel their feelings.
11. In all your affairs, remain outwardly involved and inwardly detached and serene. Do not let anything “get to you.” Remain calm. We cannot calm the storm of external events. We can calm our own minds. Objective knowledge of what we can and cannot control leads to peace of mind.
12. Let nothing disturb you. Expect nothing. Want nothing. Do not blame the gods or other people for your unhappiness. Only you can make yourself happy (serene) or unhappy (disturbed).
13. To blame others for one’s own misfortunes shows a lack training; to blame oneself shows that one’s training has begun; to blame neither oneself nor others shows that one’s training has been completed (after Epictetus). When you are disturbed, you have only yourself to blame. When you are undisturbed, you have no one to blame.