(If you're wondering, JtC lifted my suspension. We cleared the air, agreed to disagree and agreed that occasional differences between friends is part of life. A rather stoic arrangement, one could say.)
Welcome to Part Four.
Part One can be found here:http://caucus99percent.com/content/resilience-how-stoic-marcus-aurelius-...
I find the teachings of Stoicism a great help in strengthening my ptsd-scrambled brain.
It has been universally beneficial to regular folks for 2,500 years now.
You may find it a useful, practical guide to strengthen your mind in these turbulent times.
Previously, I had written a 3-part essay series on the Stoic teachings of the Roman Epictetus that makes for a brief grounding in Stoic practical basics. You will find it in the Resilience Group Essay Queue:
http://caucus99percent.com/content/stoicism-trauma-survivors-part-13

This is a four-part series on the thoughts to himself of the Roman Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome.
I present an introduction on what Aurelius means to me, who he was, and then his thoughts without comment: for they speak clearly for themselves directly to the reader. More below.

Hello, dear friends. Welcome to Part Three.
I find the teachings of Stoicism a great help in strengthening my ptsd-scrambled brain. It has been universally beneficial to regular folks for 2,500 years now.
You may find it a useful, practical guide to strengthen your mind in these turbulent times.
Previously, I had written a 3-part essay series on the Stoic teachings of the Roman Epictetus that makes for a brief grounding in Stoic practical basics. You will find it in the Resilience Group Essay Queue:
http://caucus99percent.com/content/stoicism-trauma-survivors-part-13

This is a four-part series on the thoughts to himself of the Roman Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome.
I present an introduction on what Aurelius means to me, who he was, and then his thoughts without comment: for they speak clearly for themselves directly to the reader. More below.

Hello, dear friends. I find the teachings of Stoicism a great help in strengthening my ptsd-scrambled brain.
It has been universally beneficial to regular folks for 2,500 years now.
You may find it a useful, practical guide to strengthen your mind in these turbulent times.
Previously, I had written a 3-part essay series on the Stoic teachings of the Roman Epictetus that makes for a brief grounding in Stoic practical basics. You will find it in the Resilience Group Essay Queue:
http://caucus99percent.com/content/stoicism-trauma-survivors-part-13

This is Part Two of a four-part series on the thoughts to himself of the Roman Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome. I present an introduction on what Aurelius means to me and then his thoughts without comment: for they speak clearly for themselves directly to the reader.
If you've read Part One, skip straight to the quotes, eh :=) Thank you the wonderful discussion in part one.
Here is Part One: http://caucus99percent.com/content/resilience-how-stoic-marcus-aurelius-...
More below.

Hello, dear friends, from the old loafer. I find the teachings of Stoicism a great help in strengthening my ptsd-scrambled brain. It has been universally beneficial to regular folks for 2,500 years now.
You may find it a useful, practical guide to strengthen your mind in these turbulent times.
Previously, I had written a 3-part essay series on the Stoic teachings of the Roman Epictetus that makes for a brief grounding in Stoic practical basics. You will find it in the Resilience Group Essay Queue:
http://caucus99percent.com/content/stoicism-trauma-survivors-part-13

This is the first of a four-part series on the thoughts to himself of the Roman Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome. I present an introduction on what Aurelius means to me and then his thoughts without comment: for they speak clearly for themselves directly to the reader. More below.

What follows is the verbatim, edited only for reasons of personal privacy, text of an email I sent to a friend last night. You kind of get it or you don't. If you don't, that's alright, I kind of envy you.

"Saw your message on FB about your email reply. Went to my inbox and read your email I went back to Facebook to see what else I'd been missing while I was out (I don't use a modern phone, so all my internetting is on my laptop).

I'm in therapy. It's a great feeling to finally be getting better.

However, there's something I'm finding out that really bugging me. For those who don't know, I'm an Iraq war veteran. I served with the 3d ACR in Iraq during their 07-09 deployment. Which means that I was present during what was later called "The worst of the Sectarian Violence", however you want to make a euphemism of that.

There’s a pernicious and evil myth going around that simply shooting the “Bad Guys with Guns” will make everything better. It’s the central mythology surrounding our citizens walking around armed, able to buy whatever they want to with regards to lethal killing implements with only a modicum of regulation.

I just want to know one thing from those who spout this drivel.

How many Bad Guys have YOU shot?

So, I find myself in the need to explain a few things about myself. I went kinda dark at The Other Place for a while because I was running into the problem where the only time I was getting positive feedback was when I did stories mocking those against Gun Control.

Ah, I was so much Older then, I'm Younger then than now. I knew so much about where I needed to be and where my PLACE should be.