Woody's World

Hope is generally regarded as good. Fear is generally regarded as bad. To a Stoic like Hecato (known as Hecato of Rhodes), they are the same—both are projections into the future about things we do not control. Both are the enemy of this present moment that you are actually in. Both mean you’re living a life in opposition to amor fati . Hecato says, “cease to hope and you will cease to fear.” … The primary cause of both these ills is that instead of adapting ourselves to present circumstances we send out thoughts too far ahead. —Seneca,  Moral Letters , 5.7b-8

This past week of “lock down” I have pretty much cut myself off from the news. I wasn’t super strict with it, I just shut off the TV and steered away from sites online. While some relevant news may have slipped through unintentionally, I just move on. If you haven’t noticed, the sensationalism of today’s mainstream media tends to focus on stories that are geared to make us fearful or emotional. And yet for every negative news story out there, there are a hundred more things happening around us that aren’t necessarily getting coverage. In our technologically connected world it is not so easy to just block out the “news” so how should we consume it without being overwhelmed by it? First, we need to realize that we live in an eternal 24-hour news cycle, which is now more often than not, the same stories are repeated on CNN/Fox, websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Everywhere we go, media follows us and according to some research, this may even be damaging our mental ...

We must make the most of a world to which most of what happens is not up to us and, in fact, seems to go contrary to how we would choose if it were. We can get angry and announce our disapproval. We can throw our hands up, curse the sky, and tell whoever will listen about how unfair this or that is. But as much as we argue, we can’t alter reality. So, we must embrace it. We must love it. All of it. Amor fati . “There it is.” And then do our best. And then make the most of it.

My goal in life is not to be happy but to be useful, to be needed. Because to be useful and needed makes me happy. Happy moments come and go as life comes and goes. When my life is over my happy moments will end but my usefulness can live on. In the lessons I have taught my child, in the knowledge and experience I pass on to others, in the memories and reputation I leave with those who survive me. This is not to say that I do not want to be happy but that my focus is not on immediate happiness itself. For immediacy and happiness both end. My usefulness can also make those around me happy and this adds to my legacy which will survive me. How are you going to remembered by those who survive you? “ What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. ” - Albert Pike

So here is the deal. I have always wanted to be able to write but have never been very creative. I am more logical then inventive. I can solve problems using different resources but just can't seem to pull ideas out of thin air. I have also wanted to be known, not famous just acknowledged. So I have been trying to create a web presence hoping people will discover my name. So now I am trying to put them together by creating a blog. As I come up with original thoughts and ideas I can share them with anyone out there who might be interested. Hopefully this endeavor will help me achieve both goals. In order to get my creative juices flowing I am going to try and force myself to write on here at least twice a week to start. On Wednesdays I will post quotes I have read that inspire me and write my own comments about them. It will be titled "Words to Live by Wednesday". On one other day of the week I will post a writing based on a book I purchased at Books-a-Milli...