"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
A long week has ended. I sit down to read, sigh of pleasure. A racket erupts. Outside the window, a giant truck reaches across the road with roaring saws arching over power lines, neighborhood dogs fall into frenzied barking.
Seriously? A Saturday afternoon? Words from the very page I was reading: "Most of us go through life under the delusion that it is people, situations or events that make us sad, anxious or angry. Look closely at your experience, though, say the Stoics: What actually causes suffering are the beliefs we hold about things."*
Laughter in this irony. Heck yes, I have a belief. A judgment quick as a flash, indignation too. But is it the racket that bothers me? Or the belief I hold that Saturdays should be a certain way, that quiet reading is important?
Events are neutral, say the Stoics. They aren't irritating, bad, uplifting, or good. "To live non-attachedly is to feel impulses, think thoughts, and experience life without becoming hooked by mental narratives about how things should be, or should never be, or should remain forever."*
Observing what is real, this reality I am built for. Another sigh.
The afternoon opens now. It's a shift that allows the mystery back in. Which feels like an edgy relief, perhaps a curiosity whether we can really do this, embracing all experiences, including uncertainty, aversion, bursts of "unhappiness." Bursts like stars. A bit awesome, the fact that we can live these many energies and simultaneously observe them.
A perfect start to the holidays. Bearing witness to my relationship with beliefs, bursts, momentary reality. I'll keep happily stumbling.
Remembering Joseph Campbell now: “The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty ‘yes’ to your adventure.”
Deep breath. Fork in the road, again and again. My favorite day. Yes.
And for the research: The book I was reading and quote from is one of my favorites for 2019: The Antidote, Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking, by Oliver Burkeman. Stoicism is only one of the chapters. For a good primer about the Stoics: https://dailystoic.com.
Thank you for choosing to read this email: I do not take it lightly. Contact me with your thoughts. I will respond,
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