“Truth lies in open for all; it has not yet been monopolized. And there is plenty of it left even for posterity to discover.” – Seneca
The world doesn’t really change, the people in the world don’t really change much, but the facade, the distractions, and the vices we enjoy all seem to grow and multiply as our lives become easier and more luxurious. We get a little free time and we fill it by wasting it.
We putter around our little homes worrying about the leaves in the yard, the spots of dead grass, getting the laundry put away, and getting those spots off the kitchen floor. Meanwhile there is water dripping through the ceiling and we ignore it long enough to let the structure be damaged. While we are busy puttering around telling ourselves that we are keeping busy, the important things are rotting out from under us.
We could be reading, learning a language, working on projects of value. We could be working to actually maintain the house that is falling down around us.
The person we want to become can look at our situation and that person can tell themselves what is important to focus on, what we can control, and what is unimportant or what we can not control.
The person we want to become would find truth. Wherever they looked. Let’s start looking.
virtus fortis vocat
Good post! I found an old poem yesterday when I was cleaning out some paperwork and I thought it had a bit of Stoicism about it…
“He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.”
I think it was written by Goethe.
Anyway, Happy Christmas to you and your family!
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