The Good Life - 09/05/2023 - Busy woman at the beach
Updated: 6 days ago
I sat on the sand yesterday for three hours straight, only breaking my meditation twice for a refreshing plunge in the sea. The beach was fairly crowded, it being Labor Day and all, and folks were sitting close together on the sand at the water’s edge. A perfect end of summer day, bringing people to the shore who might sometimes never come.
During the last hour of my stay, a woman my age sat down immediately next to me. She sat straight like the Buddha, looking far out to sea. I could see behind her glasses, her eyes were closed—more like the Buddha after all. A half hour later she opened her eyes suddenly, removed her glasses and looked around. She smiled at me, saying hi and offering a compliment to the fine weather we were having. I agreed, adding that the water temperature was also quite nice. She asked if I was a local, and I surprised myself in responding “yes”. She was too, living just up the street. She added, “you know, I never come to the beach, though I live nearby.” Adding, “I guess it’s true what they say about taking what we’ve got for granted.” As she got up to leave, the woman lifted her phone to her ear to begin a call, walking away and never looking back. I wonder when the next time will come that she will visit the water’s edge to close her eyes and just listen to the sea?
The Good Life Meditation is my daily recitation and reminder of personal objectives and principles used in pursuit of a purposeful life in spite of a universe of seeming indifference. Learn more about The Good Life at my website GoingAlone.org or by reading my book Going Alone.
OBJECTIVES: 1. Be Always Ready to Die 2. Make Good Use of Time and Resources 3. Develop Good and Sound Life Principles 4. Cultivate Good Emotional Reactions 5. Perform Good Actions 6. Recognize True Limits and Opportunity 7. One Thing Slowly
8. Maintain Balance
PRINCIPLES: 1. Principle of War 2. Principle of Reason 3. Homunculus 4. Anchorhold 5. Home of Good and Evil 6. Principle of Purpose 7. Atomic Principle 8. Principle of Nature 9. The Pirate Ride 10. Principle of Maturity 11. Social Principle
12. Principle of Family 13. Public Speaking 14. Temperance 15. Life Will Not Go Well 16. The Horror Show 17. That Which Must Be Borne 18. The Feast of Offal 19. Distraction 20. Agency and The Great Indifference 21. The Best Seat in the House 22. The Restless Man 23. The Path of Wildness 24. The Great Life Adventure 25. The Risk of Avoiding Risk 26. Sin and Damnation 27. Complete Oblivion 28. The Season of Philosophy
29. Scriptwriting 30. Bullseye Aim 31. The Uphill Climb 32. Arena and Utility 33. Nothing IS enough 34. The Principle of Fun
35. Being Ready
#Stoic #Stoicism #StoicPhilosophy #GoingAlone #TheGoodLife #GoodUseOfTime
My name is Kurt Bell
Learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone
Be safe... But not too safe