Turning adversity into advantage. Plus cake.
Happy Friday!
Here, have some cake, because...
WARNING: Stoicism ahead!
I promise this is the last time (for a while) that I'll write about Stoicism. But last week was Stoic Week, and you're desperate to know how I got on, right?
Well, I can formally announce that I'm now 9% more Stoic!
Looking at the pre- and post-week test results, I also had a higher balance of positive emotions to negative, and a higher sense of flourishing - but I was, overall, less satisfied with life. So a mixed bag...
The final meditation was on how Stoics deal with adversity. This is probably Stoicism's most enduring legacy, the inspiration for Albert Ellis's Rational Emotional Behavioural Therapy, which was the forerunner to NHS golden child, CBT.
Ah CBT... How we love to hate you!
But when you actually go back to the ancients, there were no click-through questionnaires - just a lot of frighteningly logical musings on life. Frightening because, if we accepted them as the truths they often are, we might actually live happier lives. And who wants the responsibility for one of those? Talk about pressure.
So here is that final Meditation from Marcus Aurelius:
Be like the headland, on which the waves break constantly, which still stands firm, while the foaming waters are put to rest around it.
‘It is my bad luck that this has happened to me.’ On the contrary, say, ‘It is my good luck that, although this has happened to me, I can bear it without getting upset, neither crushed by the present nor afraid of the future.’
This kind of event could have happened to anyone, but not everyone would have borne it without getting upset.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.49
If you'd like to read more about Stoicism and dealing with adversity, I've written a short Meditation on Meditations on my blog.
INPUT
I got five on it.
MUSIC: Astrakan Cafe (Part 1) by bewitching Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem.
EXERCISE: Press ups, every morning. According to science, I lift 69-75% of my body weight with each press up. I might start putting my feet on a box to add a few extra kilos to the lift. (I won't do this.) See this discussion on Reddit.
THE FUTURE: There's a thing called Li-Fi. It's the internet, but distributed by light. As in, from a light bulb.
THE PAST: Do you remember when light bulbs just bulbed light?
DEATH: According to a certified boffin, I'm expected to die aged 88. Options for life extension include being less neurotic and stressed, and getting loads more friends. And sucking the blood of your first born. (No, really.)
OUTPUT
Faves from the Daves.
Meditations on Meditations: Love, Change, Retreat, Indignation and Adversity (October)
"No one ever died while breathing". Psychedelic Breathwork with Alchemy of Breath (October)
The Most Living: Synopsis (October)
Wim Hof: The Cold is Our Teacher (September)
We made it! The weekend is here: well done for everything. I'm back in Bournemouth, looking forward to a sound night's sleep and a deep swim in the sea. What about you?
I leave you with a thought for the weekend from MARGE:
The man of ambition thinks to find his good in the operations of others; the man of pleasure in his own sensations; but the man of understanding in his own actions. (Meditations 6:51)
Be understanding.
- dc
p.s. Life To The Lees: Cycling Around Britain is still merrily asale.
p.p.s. Oooh... You can forward this email to a friend!
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