What I’m Grateful For: Chickens
I know I wrote about the chickens a few months ago, but here I am again with them. They are such characters, and it’s been interesting watching them learn who always comes with treats, what the dog is up to when he tries to sniff them, what those snarky cats are doing always stalking things in the yard… as they have been growing, they are more aware and more keen to understand than I ever thought chickens would be. We had some growing up, but they were away from the house (at the barn) and I don’t think I ever really had a relationship with them. This time around, I am enjoying these feathered friends a great deal. Here’s a pic of Elvis and Pretty Boy, for your amusement.
What I’m Reading: The Obstacle is the Way: the Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumphs by Ryan Holiday. This book applies the art of stoicism – which first emerged as a cohesive discipline/ way of life in ancient Greece, and it really is a fascinating tool to use in daily life – and these times of COVID make it particularly useful. The Stoics differentiated between ‘good’, ‘bad’, and ‘indifferent’ things. The good things include the cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. The bad things include the opposites of these virtues, namely the four vices folly, injustice, cowardice, and indulgence.
As we look around ourselves at the obstacles in our paths right now – staggering unemployment, uncertain health care, the specter of the virus, the fact that spending time with far-off loved ones could be a death sentence to them or ourselves – this is a time to apply the cardinal virtues in our lives: Wisdom, justice, courage and self-discipline. Despite have been “deprived” of contact for months, self-discipline and wisdom advise us to choose to continue the difficult path of staying socially distant. The virtue of courage gives us the strength to do so even when others mock or insult us and call us “living in fear.” And the virtue of justice gives us a clear path in these times – to do justice to this situation means we do our best to be unflagging, unrelenting and unfaltering in our determination to take care of those around us, and ourselves, even when the temptations of folly, indulgence, cowardice and injustice call to us from every corner. The obstacle IS the way through. The only way through this is to stay calm and choose wisdom and self-discipline. Even when things are uncomfortable, itchy, scratchy, hot, claustrophobic and annoying, our inner Stoic has no issues rising about and exercising the self-discipline and confidence to stay strong and be an example for others.
Web Tip: Flash is a thing of the past and is no longer supported in 2020. You will need to update with either a HTML5 animation or video format. Bonus tip- You generally have 15 seconds to capture your audiences attention, so use that time wisely!
Quote I’m Pondering: “Facts do not fall in the face of discomfort.”― Stefan Molyneux
