For the 2-3 people who actually read my journals, thank you.
I will be taking a break from my weekly entries, however, as these challenging times are making it difficult for me to abide by the Stoic teachings. It feels hypocritical to say "be unlike the one who performed the injury" or "be true to yourself" when there are so many examples lately of people who are attempting to "be true" to themselves in artificial ways that provoke others into imitating the very behaviors used against them.
In a world so clearly divided, it has become clear that there is no longer a greater "we" that shares a common goal and a common understanding. Their is evil and there is virtue. There is right and there is wrong. There is a clear distinction between the two and recognizing it has labeled the loving as hate-filled, the gentle as violent, and the accepting as intolerant.
I would like to share with you now a quote not from one of the Stoics, but from a figure born long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. It has been instrumental in shaping my world view since I was but a boy, and I carry these words etched upon my soul, forever reminding myself that there is purpose to life beyond one's whims, urges, and politics.
"Everyone dies.
It's the final and only lasting Justice. Evil exists; it is intelligence in the service of entropy. When the side of a mountain slides down to kill a village, it is not evil, for evil requires intent. Should a sentient being cause that landslide, there is evil; and requires Justice as a consequence, so that civilization can exist.
There is no greater good than Justice; and only if law serves Justice is it a good law. It is said correctly that law exists not for the Just but for the unjust, for the Just carry the law in their hearts, and do not need to call it from afar.
I bow to no one and I give service only for cause."
— Jaster Mereel
For too long, indecision has bred inaction, and inaction has bred indifference. Morality has been eroding for many years, and we now see the side of a mountain rushing toward the village, not because of nature or climate change, or some force beyond our understanding, but because someone has decided that words equate to violence. I weep for what becomes of a village so concerned with appeasement that it would sit by and watch the excavators and explosives being used to weaken the soil without so much as asking what the purpose is. Now, everyone is looking upward, seeing the calamity bearing down, and realizing that "this is it."
I only hope that there is still time to avert further disaster, lest another village be flattened by the sore losers from a war of words.
Before I place this series on indefinite hiatus, I leave you with these words and a call to action:
"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."
-Marcus Aurelius
If you need me, you know where to find me.
Until next time, be safe, be healthy, be mindful... and be virtuous, my friends.
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22 Sep 2025 01:51 CEST
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