On Personal Liberty; You Always Have a Choice

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Every once in a while my view on how society should be organized seeps into my entries on philosophy. This view stems from my objectivist leanings, as well as my libertarian outlook. I say “should be” because society is actually a compendium of different personal philosophies bastardized by the collective brutality of government, societal norms, and those who abuse natural law. Simply put, how things should be as a society are not how they are…at least not exactly. However, that does not mean that I shouldn’t strive for the “ought.” The Stoic maintains his virtue despite its absence all around him.

A cornerstone of our behavior is personal liberty. Continue reading

Simple but not Easy; Just Be Good

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“Whatever any one does or says, I must be good, just as if the gold, or the emerald, or the purple were always saying this, Whatever any one does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color.”–Marcus Aurelius Meditations Book 7

Whenever I need straightforward Stoic guidance, I turn to Marcus Aurelius.  Continue reading

To Not Pray at All

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“A Prayer of the Athenians: ‘Rain, rain, O dear Zeus, down on the ploughed fields of the Athenians and on the plains.’- In truth we ought not to pray at all, or we ought to pray in this simple and noble fashion.” Marcus Aurelius

My thoughts on this quote:  CLICK RIGHT HERE.   Please like the article if you do.

My Set Point: Changing my Path

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I changed my path.  It took me over 10 years.  There are many reasons I did this, many reasons it took so long as well.  I have a list of reasons that I started about 10 years ago.  The list grew and solidified over time.

Today, though, I wanted to share two of the reasons taken from my list:  More time to just “be” and “more time with my family.” Continue reading

What you are grasping for will not make you free.

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From Epictetus Discourses Book IV, Chapter 4:

“Come forward and tell us! when was your sleep more tranquil, now or before you became Caesar’s friend?

At once the answer comes, ‘Cease, by the gods I beg you, to mock at my fortune; you do not know what a miserable state is mine; no sleep comes near to me, but in comes some one to say, “Now he’s awake, now he’ll be coming out”; then troubles and cares assail me.’

Tell me, when did you dine more agreeably, now or before?

Hear again what he says about this: if he is not invited, he is distressed, and if he is invited he dines as a slave with his lord, anxious all the while for fear he should say or do something foolish.

For my thoughts on this, visit my post at bubblews.com.