Ramblings - August 2016

In sorting through various writings of mine, I came across the following. In reading them, I can see I was pretending to be philosophical with the hope I might become so. As with many things in life, our desire often precedes our ability and this may be the secret to achieving much. When our desire and our will are joined in the pursuit of something worthy, much can be attained. (It is the judgement of the worthiness of our goals that requires philosophy.) As someone once said: Fake it 'til you make it. Or perhaps even better: We often become that which we pretend to be. For now, I am pretending to be philosophical.

Ramblings:

A man should measure his wealth not by how much he owns, but by how little he owes. Too often our possessions include a tax that takes more time than we have.

A man should not measure his worth by that which can be bought and sold but by that thing that will die with him: his will. Our wills are all that separate us from others. Why did X not achieve Y? Because X lacked the will to take the necessary steps. (Note: And then, once that will is harnessed in the conquering of a thousand bad habits there is the task of guiding it towards something worthy. Once we subdue all that holds us back, there is that perhaps larger issue of the pointing of our will towards a worthy target.) 

All that we are is that which we take into the bath. We are only that which exists within us: will, truth, honesty, hope, love, kindness, generosity, etc. We are not things or achievements, but only that which is a part of our internal makeup. Find that and you will find who you are.

We are all given the gift of will which drives how we perceive the world and how we will decide to direct our energy. Control your judgement of the world as you participate and direct your actions in such a way that they are moving towards the attainment of a worthwhile goal.

A practicing Stoic must hold two thoughts simultaneously until he is able to hold only one. We are like two people in one body. One part of us contains the ability to think, reason, and apply our will to the accomplishment of something worthy of our efforts. And our other part that must be pressed into service, controlled, made to cooperate, but is always resistant. The Stoic must come to control his will and reasoning power to guide this other half that seems to have control over his actions. We are divided into that part that wishes to do the right thing and that part that would rather neglect what is required to achieve a worthy goal. Our will battles daily with laziness and the unending pursuit of meaningless entertainments. How much news about Donald Trump do you really need? Find a man that has accomplished much, and you will find a man that has harnessed his will. There is the me that knows what must be done, and the me that does not wish to do what must be done. My strength is on the side of my laziness. The Stoic's job is to break this duality of character, defeat his laziness, and harness his will.