It is an irony how hard people will work for money, myself included, but then how many will pay no attention to the soul on top of it. This is a very Epictetian point.
Fuck you money as a concept always sounded nice to have, but it’s still pretty lofty for many and embedded in „hustle culture“ in many ways, which goes directly against many things I appreciate and want to implement in life, but a fuck you soul sounds more like it. No matter what life throws at me, I am ready and I know I can get through it!
Another outstanding piece my friend. Your ability to define our current societies “illnesses” is always refined and laid bare with no pause needed for alternate considerations.
“The human condition reveals itself in an elegant and elemental reality. When calories, knives, tribes, flesh, and breath have been taken away from us—by man or by nature—we are still able to utter a single and savage word until the end: No.”
"an ice age is now an education system designed to murder the human capacity for critical thinking". This one may be the worst of these "new enemies". Having the ability to think criticality likely gives you the capability to overcome the others
It is everything. Our school system, the most expensive in the world, is a sin beyond words. I do not think we have yet begun to pay for it in downstream effects. That itself might be the best fight we can take on. Thank you, Tom. Maybe we should bring some Homer, Epictetus, and Dostoyevsky as part of the curriculum.
Absolutely timely. He smiled without a care in the world his teeth were mangled because he had a higher purpose. We still have some good men here, Barry.
A thought-provoking piece Sam. Might be so why many create enemies where none truly exist - like the loose change of petty annoyances jangling around in a pocket that people can't help touching and polishing until they become (in mind at least) worth something greater.
Subconsciously, I may have 'chosen' some 'enemies' in the past to challenge myself or broach what they represent in me that I can't face at the time. Of course, they fade along with irritation. It's perhaps why I can seemingly never stop doing martial arts with its endless procession of elements and 'enemies' to master, which seems to never be truly reduced to victory or defeat, but opens up more outcomes - survival, resilience, reflection etc. and the eternal quest to learn about oneself through self-imposed adversity, and against all instincts, learning to lose and win in perpetuity.
Sam, this connects perfectly with "On the Madness of Comparing Ourselves to Others". It's like a natural continuation: a lack of imagination keeps us from preparing for things we can't even envision and our need for an enemy to define ourselves... it all ties together so well.
Indians also enslaved each other. I'm wondering if the torture ceased, if and when the subject surrendered his spirit, and became willing to be a slave.
That is the way it is in modern times. We are tested. We are measured relative to our willingness to conform. Those who conform to the 'standards' can know an easy, comfortable life with no freedom. Those who insist on freedom are likely to suffer continual assaults until they surrender to conformity.
“Fuck you soul” — hell yeah, Sam.
It is an irony how hard people will work for money, myself included, but then how many will pay no attention to the soul on top of it. This is a very Epictetian point.
Fuck you money as a concept always sounded nice to have, but it’s still pretty lofty for many and embedded in „hustle culture“ in many ways, which goes directly against many things I appreciate and want to implement in life, but a fuck you soul sounds more like it. No matter what life throws at me, I am ready and I know I can get through it!
This is it entirely, Kai. What a conviction to be a guide to us everyday. And what a test to constantly remember it and live by it.
My favorite line as well
Another outstanding piece my friend. Your ability to define our current societies “illnesses” is always refined and laid bare with no pause needed for alternate considerations.
“The human condition reveals itself in an elegant and elemental reality. When calories, knives, tribes, flesh, and breath have been taken away from us—by man or by nature—we are still able to utter a single and savage word until the end: No.”
This is a super acute observation. Thank you for dropping it… I’ll give me some thought for awhile. I’m stoked you enjoyed it.
"an ice age is now an education system designed to murder the human capacity for critical thinking". This one may be the worst of these "new enemies". Having the ability to think criticality likely gives you the capability to overcome the others
It is everything. Our school system, the most expensive in the world, is a sin beyond words. I do not think we have yet begun to pay for it in downstream effects. That itself might be the best fight we can take on. Thank you, Tom. Maybe we should bring some Homer, Epictetus, and Dostoyevsky as part of the curriculum.
Just like Jack Hughes scoring the winning goal for USA hockey gold medal with his teeth on ice expressing pure joy!
Absolutely timely. He smiled without a care in the world his teeth were mangled because he had a higher purpose. We still have some good men here, Barry.
A thought-provoking piece Sam. Might be so why many create enemies where none truly exist - like the loose change of petty annoyances jangling around in a pocket that people can't help touching and polishing until they become (in mind at least) worth something greater.
Subconsciously, I may have 'chosen' some 'enemies' in the past to challenge myself or broach what they represent in me that I can't face at the time. Of course, they fade along with irritation. It's perhaps why I can seemingly never stop doing martial arts with its endless procession of elements and 'enemies' to master, which seems to never be truly reduced to victory or defeat, but opens up more outcomes - survival, resilience, reflection etc. and the eternal quest to learn about oneself through self-imposed adversity, and against all instincts, learning to lose and win in perpetuity.
Sam, this connects perfectly with "On the Madness of Comparing Ourselves to Others". It's like a natural continuation: a lack of imagination keeps us from preparing for things we can't even envision and our need for an enemy to define ourselves... it all ties together so well.
So, about that torture...
Indians also enslaved each other. I'm wondering if the torture ceased, if and when the subject surrendered his spirit, and became willing to be a slave.
That is the way it is in modern times. We are tested. We are measured relative to our willingness to conform. Those who conform to the 'standards' can know an easy, comfortable life with no freedom. Those who insist on freedom are likely to suffer continual assaults until they surrender to conformity.
p.s. I think that's the point of zombie movies.