When u find

d aathvan ajooba- toughest part ! 

LAUGH, OR CRY?

“Heraclitus would shed tears whenever he went out in public—Democritus laughed. One saw the

whole as a parade of miseries, the other of follies. And so, we should take a lighter view of

things and bear them with an easy spirit, for it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it.” —SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 15.2

Is this observation the origin of that famous expression about frustrating news: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry?” The Stoics saw little purpose in getting angry or sad about things that are indifferent to our feelings. Especially when those feelings end up making us feel worse.

It’s also another bit of evidence that the Stoics were hardly some depressing, bitter group of old men. Even when things were really bad, when the world made them want to weep in despair or rage, they chose to laugh about it.

Like Democritus, we can make that same choice. There is more humor than hate to be found in just about every situation. And at least humor is productive—making things less heavy, not more so.

DON’T BE MISERABLE IN ADVANCE

“It’s ruinous for the soul to be anxious about the future and miserable in advance of misery, engulfed by anxiety that the things it desires might remain its own until the very end. For such a soul will never be at rest—by longing for things to come it will lose the ability to enjoy present things.”

—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 98.5b–6a

The way we nervously worry about some looming bad news is strange if you think about it. By definition, the waiting means it hasn’t happened yet, so that feeling bad in advance is totally voluntary. But that’s what we do: chewing our nails, feeling sick to our stomachs, rudely brushing aside the people around us. Why? Because something bad might occur soon.

The pragmatist, the person of action, is too busy to waste time on such silliness. The pragmatist can’t worry about every possible outcome in advance. Think about it. Best case scenario—if the news turns out to be better than expected, all this time was wasted with needless fear. Worst case scenario—we were miserable for extra time, by choice.

And what better use could you make of that time? A day that could be your last—you want to spend it in worry? In what other area could you make some progress while others might be sitting on the edges of their seat, passively awaiting some fate?

Let the news come when it does. Be too busy working to care.

WORK IS THERAPY

  “Work nourishes noble minds.”

You know that feeling you get when you haven’t been to the gym in a few days? A bit doughy. Irritable. Claustrophobic. Uncertain. Others get a similar feeling when they’ve been on vacation for too long or right after they first retire. The mind and the body are there to be used—they begin to turn on themselves when not put to some productive end.

It’s sad to think that this kind of frustration is an everyday reality for a lot of people. They leave so much of their potential unfulfilled because they have jobs where they don’t really do much or because they have too much time on their hands. Worse is when we try to push these feelings away by buying things, going out, fighting, creating drama—indulging in the empty calories of existence instead of finding the real nourishment.

The solution is simple and, thankfully, always right at hand. Get out there and work.

Favouritism ♥️

Is omnipresent , it is - and all theories wronged , Define it as rare but beautiful ~ privileged ~

Good Day. 

 luv kavi ♥️

The Guilt trip

d things that wud not need any consent , the frank part of the statement not said but loud throughout- the stick and the frustration both ! 

the casual, the drift , the drama . 

Random - kavi ♥️

STICK WITH JUST THE FACTS

“Don’t tell yourself anything more than what the initial impressions report. It’s been reported to

you that someone is speaking badly about you. This is the report—the report wasn’t that you’ve

been harmed. I see that my son is sick—but not that his life is at risk. So always stay within your

first impressions, and don’t add to them in your head—this way nothing can happen to you.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.49

At first, this can seem like the opposite of everything you’ve been taught. Don’t we cultivate our minds and critical thinking skills precisely so we don’t simply accept things at face value? Yes, most of the time. But sometimes this approach can be counterproductive.

What a philosopher also has is the ability, as Nietzsche put it, “to stop courageously, at the surface” and see things in plain, objective form. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, Stoics were “superficial,” he said, “out of profundity.” Today, while other people are getting carried away, that’s what you’re going to practice. A kind of straightforward pragmatism—seeing things as their initial impressions make them

Warmth of the captivating gestures !

 Captive ‘ to rawness . d story behind and d story further… from nice to Cupid 

spice up♥️

.. Days are sometimes not the way I want to rule 

START WITH WHERE THE WORLD IS

“Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that’s in your power. Don’t look around to

see if people will know about it. Don’t await the perfection of Plato’s Republic, but be satisfied

with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as a small thing.”

—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.29.(4)

Have you ever heard the expression “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough”? The idea is not to settle or compromise your standards, but rather not to become trapped by idealism.

The community organizer Saul Alinsky opens his book Rules for Radicals with a pragmatic but inspiring articulation of that idea:

“As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be—it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be.”

There is plenty that you could do right now, today, that would make the world a better place. There are plenty of small steps that, were you to take them, would help move things forward. Don’t excuse yourself from doing them because the conditions aren’t right or because a better opportunity might come along soon. Do what you can, now. And when you’ve done it, keep it in perspective, don’t overblow the results. Shun both ego and excuse, before and after.

PRAGMATIC AND PRINCIPLED

“Wherever a person can live, there one can also live well; life is also in the demands of court, there too one can live well.”

—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.16

William Lee Miller, in his unique “ethical biography” of Abraham Lincoln, makes an important point about this famous president: our deification of the man makes a point to pretend he wasn’t a politician. We focus on his humble beginnings, his self-education, his beautiful speeches. But we gloss over his job, which was politics. That misses what was so truly impressive about him: Lincoln was all the things he was—compassionate, deliberate, fair, open-minded, and purposeful—while being a politician. He was what we admire in a profession we believe to be filled exclusively with the opposite of that type of person.

Principles and pragmatism are not at odds. Whether you live in the snake pit of Washington, D.C., work among the materialism of Wall Street, or grew up in a closed-minded small town, you can live well. Plenty of others have.

THERE IS ALWAYS MORE ROOM TO MANEUVER THAN YOU THINK

“Apply yourself to thinking through difficulties—hard times can be softened, tight squeezes widened, and heavy loads made lighter for those who can apply the right pressure.”

—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 10.4b

Have you ever been hopelessly losing a game that suddenly broke wide open and you won? Remember that time when you thought you were certain to fail the test, but with an all-nighter and some luck you managed to eke out a decent score? That hunch you pursued that others would have given up on—that turned out brilliantly?

It’s that kind of energy and creativity and above all faith in yourself that you need right now. Defeatism won’t get you anywhere (except defeat). But focusing your entire effort on the little bit of room, the tiny scrap of an opportunity, is your best shot. An aide to Lyndon Johnson once remarked that around the man “there was a feeling—if you did everything, you would win.” Everything. Or as Marcus Aurelius put it, if it’s humanly possible, you can do it.

SILENCE IS STRENGTH

“Silence is a lesson learned from the many sufferings of life.”

  Recall the last time you said a really boneheaded thing, something that came back to bite you. Why did you say it? Chances are you didn’t need to, but you thought doing so would make you look smart or cool or part of the group.

“The more you say,” Robert Greene has written, “the more likely you are to say something foolish.” To that we add: the more you say, the more likely you are to blow past opportunities, ignore feedback, and cause yourself suffering.

The inexperienced and fearful talk to reassure themselves. The ability to listen, to deliberately keep out of a conversation and subsist without its validity is rare. Silence is a way to build strength and self- sufficiency.

Yes No Blame 👍

 NO BLAME, JUST FOCUS

“You must stop blaming God, and not blame any person. You must completely control your desire and shift your avoidance to what lies within your reasoned choice. You must no longer feel anger, resentment, envy, or regret.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.22.13

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for resistance to the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa for twenty-seven years. For eighteen of those years, he had a bucket for a toilet, a hard cot in a small cell, and once a year he was allowed a single visitor—for thirty minutes. It was vicious treatment meant to isolate and break down the prisoners. And yet, in spite of that, Mandela became a figure of dignity within the prison.

Though he was deprived of many things, he still found creative ways to assert his will. As one of his fellow prisoners, Neville Alexander, explained on Frontline, “He [Mandela] always made the point, if they say you must run, insist on walking. If they say you must walk fast, insist on walking slowly. That was the whole point. We are going to set the terms.” He pretended to jump rope and shadowboxed to stay in shape. He held his head higher than other prisoners, encouraged them when times got tough, and always retained his sense of self-assurance.

That self-assurance is yours to claim as well. No matter what happens today, no matter where you find yourself, shift to what lies within your reasoned choices. Ignore, as best you can, the emotions that pop up, which would be so easy to distract yourself with. Don’t get emotional—get focused.

THE GOOD LIFE IS ANYWHERE

“At this moment you aren’t on a journey, but wandering about, being driven from place to place,

even though what you seek—to live well—is found in all places. Is there any place more full of

confusion than the Forum? Yet even there you can live at peace, if needed.”

—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 28.5b–6a

Awell-known writer once complained that after becoming successful, wealthy friends were always inviting him to their beautiful, exotic houses. “Come to our home in the south of France,” they would say. Or, “Our Swiss ski chalet is a wonderful place to write.” The writer traveled the world, living in luxury, hoping to find inspiration and creativity in these inspiring manors and mansions. Yet it rarely happened. There was always the allure of another, better house. There were always distractions, always so many things to do—and the writer’s block and insecurity that plagues creative types traveled with him wherever he went.

We tell ourselves that we need the right setup before we finally buckle down and get serious. Or we tell ourselves that some vacation or time alone will be good for a relationship or an ailment. This is self- deceit at its finest.

It’s far better that we become pragmatic and adaptable—able to do what we need to do anywhere, anytime. The place to do your work, to live the good life, is here.