Hello and welcome to Navigate the day.Today is January 10th, 2003. And this is a podcast following my stoic journey today. The main theme is. If you want to be steady, the month that we're in is clarity. And that's part of the discipline of perception.I'll go ahead and read this excerpt now. The essence of good is a certain kind of reasoned choice.Just as the essence of evil is another kind. What about externals then?They are only the raw material for our reasoned choice.Would finds its own.
Which finds its own good or evil in working with them. How will it find the good?Not by marveling at the material if judgments about the material.Are straight That makes our choices good.But if those judgments are twisted, our choices turned bad. Epictetus discourses. 1.29 dot 1-3. So the journal prompt that I have here today is Where can I find steadiness? Achieving steadiness and stability are both often sought after. This can seem
daunting at first glance. These aren't my most developed seals either, so I can't say I'm totally confident in this entry, but I'll dive right in anyway. If we look at the excerpt from discourses, Epictetus is showing us that external factors don't have labels until we apply them ourselves.This is a concept I've heard from many resources and I'm still learning. When something external or out of my control happens.I often still find myself focused on the event.The actual
action.But that's just raw material and input.But not the result or outcome.Our reason choice then becomes the deciding factor of the outcome of any given situation. This can be dangerous, for if our judgments are blighted, crooked and warped, the external will result in a warped outcome.If, however, we use proper judgment, we can take outside factors that can be overwhelming and bring order and clarity to them. Wonderful idea, except the execution
leaves a lot to be desired.So much advice feels easier said than done, and this isn't an exception to that. Filtering the outside world through my judgment has not always served me well. In the times that it hasn't, it was my fault.My worldview and outlook has changed drastically in a short time, but I still struggle with keeping my judgment clear and reasonable. If my judgment is cloudy, I will get cloudy results. The you can see
the whole picture. You can't see the whole picture if your thoughts won't allow it.This reminds me of the book. Your house is a headbutt. Your head is a houseboat.By Campbell Walker.It introduced the concept of a wacky windshield and how the image we're being shown can be altered by biases, self talk and influences from others close to us and even the media. My reasoning was definitely twisted and it shows when I lash out or react in a negative way to an outside force.
As I reflect and learn more about choice, the more I realized that the thing that provides me steadiness is myself.I'm prepared if I'm prepared for various outcomes. If I am able to focus only on what eye control external factors become less relevant, remembering that I control how I react to these externals. To me at least, means I have immense power over my life. I filter my experiences through judgment, both good and bad, so knowing this, a new goal of mine is to see
things as I want.To see positive and productive productive lessons.In these moments. If we stop to pay attention, we can learn almost every minute of the day. I personally think that even in my newfound sobriety and focus. That I still can lean towards judging things in the worst way instead of. Judging it for what it is. Simply taking the time to consciously judge externals.I already am taking more steps than most to find clarity and
to steady myself.If I allow myself to misjudge situations, I risk losing the ability to. If I allow myself.To misjudge situations, I risk losing the ability to steady myself in the chaos and rush of life.So instead, I'm choosing to continue on this journaling.Journey with the hopes that I will find what I am looking for in myself.So to sum it up.I'm currently finding steadiness in me.Well, that's going to be it for today. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me ramble.
Stay safe and until next time, I wish you the best and know you can handle the worst. Love you.