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Showing posts from August, 2024

A Stoned but Somehow Relevant Thought

  Wheels Upon Wheels The Wheel of the Virtues and the Wheel of Ka. The wheel of the seasons, the wheel of years. The wheels that measure the globe of Earth, horizontally and vertically. The wheel of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The cycle of the phases of the moon can be expressed with a circle. The cycles of life and death and rebirth. Then there are the cycles of the Chinese and Solar Zodiac signs. Even the pattern of a single rotation of Earth describes a wheel. Everywhere you look, there are wheels or circles or cycles. What does all of this mean? The most likely explanation is that I am stoned and seeing patterns in the Universe that I cannot see while I am sober. Does this invalidate the whole thing? I do not think so; now that I see it, I cannot stop seeing it. Just an interesting thought. 

Living a Good Life

  Marcus Aurelius says: “Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” There is literally no downside to being a good person, or at least trying your best to be a good person. You do not lose anything. In fact, you gain a great deal, including Serenity and Enlightenment. When you know you do your best to be kind, to be benevolent, to be a good friend but an enemy to none, you feel a sort of peace that somebody who carries anger and resentment in their heart will not know. This is where Patience comes in. We must remember that everyone we meet or interact with may be dealing with pain we know nothing about. This also turns Pascal’s Wager on its head. Why worship