Kobe's legacy

Bryant deserves credit for  his important work to empower female athletes: but, did he ever speak out against the global culture of male sexual entitlement? That would have gone a long way toward settling my concerns about his behavior and attitudes.

After completing the initial listening to Marcus' journal

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the most powerful person of his time, controlled a vast empire that included modern Italy, England, Spain, France, Switzerland. Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Greece. His 21 years as Caesar were marked by a series of military campaigns to subdue hostile nations on the borders of Roman territory and a devastating plague that wiped out a fifth of the population including his brother and co-emperor whom he loved. One might expect Marcus' private journal to reveal an exalted view of himself, highlighted in tales of his exploits and extravagances, or complaints about the unending problems and responsibilities of his office and losses of friends and family members, or snide criticisms of his contemporaries. Instead, the journal consists of what the 12-Step community of our times would call a continuous "searching and fearless moral inventory." Marcus displays a constant striving to live by his high ethical standards, with emphasis on being simple, modest, strictly honest, and being indifferent to pain, sensual pleasure, fame, popularity, and material wealth. Marcus viewed suffering, obstacles, and dying as part of the natural order and refused to see them as "bad," courageously reminding himself of the transience of all things and the inevitability of his own death. Marcus considered all of humanity as one indivisible tribe and believed he had a duty to act in everyone's best interests. He was, of course, well aware of the greed, ambition, and duplicity of many powerful Romans around him, yet Marcus reminded himself repeatedly not to judge them angrily but to view them with understanding and to deal with them honestly and justly. He was a remarkable man whose writings, intended only for his own moral betterment, show that it's possible for a powerful leader to be an exemplary human being.

Meditations on "Meditations"

Listening to Marcus Aurelius' thoughts via an audiobook (the classic 1862 translation by Guy Long read by Duncan Steen), it feels as if he's speaking to an audience of students as a teacher. The reader (me) must keep in mind Marcus is, in fact, addressing himself.

That the emperor of Rome during a period of the empire's vast extent and power could have been so thoughtfully intelligent and determined to live a simple and ethically-driven life of duty to all human beings is most remarkable.  I've listened to the first five chapters and am planning to listen to the rest without doing a lot of stopping to contemplate particular passages I resonate with. My good intention is then to go back through more deliberately taking notes, recording passages, and analyzing the text critically as it relates to my own experiences and understanding.

My general reaction is to admire and like Marcus Aurelius and to find myself in sympathy and agreement with much of what he says. I feel encouraged by his words.  In my estimation, his perception and insights into the Universe hold up well after nearly 2000 years. I understand him to strive toward acceptance and harmony with self and world and to view the Universe in a positive light as natural and just, in stark contrast with the predominant Christian view of the world as fallen and corrupt. Marcus doesn't see the Universe as revolving around humanity, much less as revolving around himself. He reminds himself regularly of the transience of each human life and it's lack of great importance in an historical sense. He values awareness and appreciation of the present moment and argues for acceptance and for not judging anything that happens as good or bad on the basis of the pleasure or pain it brings. He believes in being a benevolent participant in ones society and having a useful purpose relative to the polis in every thought and action.  He sees no value in fame or wealth or power beyond their use in being a good man and a good citizen. Marcus has an open mind about what if anything may come after our body "resolves" back into its constituent elements as our lives end.

First impression of the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius

The beauty of this journal is Marcus is writing only to himself, with unflinching courage and determination to face and accept reality, relentlessly striving, urging himself to be a better person, to employ reason and knowledge in choosing his actions, to be harmonious with the universe, to accept with understanding rather than to judge, and to use his immense power to the best of his ability in the best interests of all of his fellow humans.

Donald Trump

... is a shallow, selfish, vulgar, dishonest, immoral bully. He exemplifies many of the ugliest self-defeating human character traits. He exposes the dark side of the American psyche.

On being told what we already know

An Episcopal priest once told me that the target audience of his sermons was himself. To me, the lessons learned through hard experience are like little rocks we carry around in our pockets. When we start to lose our grounding from all the noise, we can stick a hand in our pocket, touch the stone, and be reminded there's something plain and solid that endures through the confusion. If we carry enough of them around, they might keep us from floating away...

And, it helps to be reminded of things we already know. You and all the people I pay attention to aren't sharing your thoughts to impress people- you're sharing them because you're generous and you hope what you know from conscientious study and hard experience might make a difference for someone. And clearly it does. I hope the same for the thoughts I share, that someone who reads them will feel affirmed and not so alone in the struggle.

Being right vs communicating

An adversarial argument never ends constructively. Only if both people as a free choice listen and validate the other person's perceptions and feelings is the connection of intimacy restored. 💞