Fighting Beside Seneca

“Busy” is a fascinating word. No definition needed, right? We all get it. I’m sure you have so much “on your plate” and find yourself living at a frenetic pace these days. Because we all know that feeling. Seriously, who has time for a proper vacation when there is so much to do? Most Americans don’t. Truth is, we admire the busy person with the full schedule. They’re important. Achieving. But here’s the thing… Americans (and I can only assume most people) are really bad at judging their time. We only sleep six hours per night. Unless sleep is actually monitored, then it’s closer to eight hours. And TV? There are various surveys and studies, but Nielsen measures average TV viewing at over five hours each day. And that phone of yours, with social media beckoning you to share senseless details of your life, while viewing the glamorous pursuits of others or reading the most disheartening stories from a “newsfeed” or, God forbid, aimlessly clicking one link after another down some ra...

In 1947, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas penned one of the great poems of the twentieth century. Ostensibly, as he watched his father fading at the end of his life, he encouraged him to “rage against the dying of the light”. Read it. Sit with it. Meditate upon it. Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my fa...

What do you want? Seriously. Life is finite. You have no idea how much time remains. But you know there are coming limits and a definitive end. What is important to you and where do you want to go with this thing? This is a fundamental question regarding the value that you place upon your own time, your own joy, your own wellbeing. In effect, your life itself. Whether you bother to take in those sunrises and sunsets, they occur. Time marches. Consider for a moment… Do you have written goals? Do you have a plan to better yourself? Do your daily ACTIONS align with what you SAY is important to you? What would an outsider, observing your daily existence, think is most important to you? You ok with that? If you have no clear plan for your life, you really can’t complain. People stumble through life all the time. Just look around. That is an option. But not a path to happiness. That is, rather, a path to the unnecessary (harsher side of me might say “silly”) discontent that arises ...

It’s normal that we appreciate our own challenges and achievements. Obviously, they are the challenges and achievements that we know best. However, that appreciation becomes a blind spot if we think of them as special. That appreciation may prompt us to pat our own backs, rather than say “thanks” where it’s appropriate, or fail to reach down to pull up others, or push as hard as we can against the next obstacle. Odds are that whatever challenges you have faced in life, others have as well. And many have suffered more. Much more. You name it… the loss of a loved one, divorce (parent’s or your own), financial ruin, fear and loneliness. Not to minimize anyone’s particular hurdles, wouldn’t do that, but only to offer context. So much of the world (not to mention mankind throughout history) lives on less money, less food, has less freedom, and fewer choices. Yet we tend to compare ourselves to our friends and neighbors. We see all that they have and want it. We see the Instagram vacat...