after the rain comes the…
mud.
and then some more rain. but, i guess it’s all about the framing. so i text home a good morning and chat about the weather with my in-laws. instead of sun and 30°c in berlin i have perfect hiking weather here. if you disregard the added weight of half a kilo of mud on each hiking boot. and if you avoid to slip along the narrow inclines past puente la reina.
enough complaining, even to myself. so i put on some music and i’m in my happy place almost immediately. maybe not happy, but at least content.
today it is a swedish band. vulkan. heavy drums, syncopated rhythms, equally heavy guitars, bass and lyrics. but then intricate reductions, church-choir-like singing, interplays of flutes, strings, and the chord choices - beautiful. when they start singing, my state of mind and the rainy sky are in synchrony. we both just are.
what’s it like?
being part of this illusion you people call life?
there is more than you can see
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i’m thinking some more about stoicism today.
attention - mensplaining incoming - read at your own peril!
in past posts i referred to the dichotomy of control, that there really are only a few things that are under our control, if even. basically it comes down to what is going on inside of us, when we go through experiences and - if we are tuned in to what’s going on - how we might be able to make concious decisions on how we want to react (or not). we can train ourselves to be prepared for what comes our way. we train to think and arrive at considered judgements (without prejudice).
i like to visualize a stoic person as a stick figure, with practical wisdom in the head (the mind), courage on the left side where the heart is, justice on the right side to balance it all out, and temperance sitting in the stomach, where you feel if you overindulge.
to apply these four virtues one needs discipline. disciplines rather - three of them according to the stoics.
discipline of desire (and loss aversion). while we desire health, wealth, reputation, et cetera, we don’t control those things, they are subject to fortune. while we do not control the external world, we can control our desires by managing our expectations. by lowering our expectations and recognizing that external events are indifferent to what we desire, we stop desiring things that are outside of our power.
discipline of action. we live and thrive in relation to others. we need meaningful relationships. we need to listen to each other. when we reflect regularly, daily, we need to ask - what have i left undone, what have i done, was it good? were my actions today driven by impulse or irrationality? did i think of my place in the social contexts i’m in? what was my contribution, my impact?
discipline of assent. when we experience the world, we receive impressions. we interpret our senses. assent is a choice to give our belief or agreement to those impressions. when we suspend judgment and refuse to give assent until we are certain, we are not misled by irrational emotions or false perceptions. take proper time to carefully consider your perceptions.
why stoicism? a number of years ago it found me, when i needed it.
somehow this combination of identifying unhelpful thought patterns, challenging them, reframing or replacing them, actively approaching issues like avoidance (i don’t want to go there), apathy (it doesn’t matter what i do), and procrastination (i don’t need to do it today), going out and doing things, challenging myself to go and do things that are objectively challenging, overcoming fears, slowly but surely developing the knowledge that i can cope, it somehow has changed me, i think.
stoicism isn’t about turning inwards. it is about being a better social being.
end of mensplaining. let me know, if this was in any way useful.
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today’s hike led me to the panaderia first for a quick coffee, then over the name-giving bridge of puente la reina, over narrow, muddy forest tracks to the impressive hill-top town of cirauqui, late breakfast after a phone check-in by a berlin friend (ensuring i find my way) in lorca, past villatuerta with another long and lovely phone call to my wife onto estella / lizarra.
upon arrival at the albergue there is a line of maybe 25 people or so, wanting to check in as quickly as possible, because the rain is picking up. and some souls are stressed whether there are enough beds. the hospitaleros seem to know how pilgrims think. they put out a sign reading something like: we have 75 beds. stay calm! will do.
many people here, whose faces i have seen before, some that i have had conversations with, some new additions.
there will be a communal dinner at the albergue tonight (hopefully there is wine!), which i’m looking forward to. and then an early night. i feel my body adjusting to the increased load and am a bit tired today.
welcome to new readers!
