by Owen | Mar 29, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Re-Reading: What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
I’ve found it really difficult to get into new books this last week amongst being stuck at home and biding my time. So I’m returning to one to one of my favorites. This book has played through my head for months on end since I first read it at the end of last year. As I’ve already talked about it in a previous post, I won’t go into much detail. But I must say the second read is even more enlightening than the first.
What I’m Using this Time For: Learning
Given we are all spending a whole lot of time at home for the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to use this time to dedicate myself to learning. Every day I am picking some subjects or skills that I want to explore more. As for skills, I’m taking the time to spruce up on my guitar playing. Alternatively, I’m taking some free online courses in economics through Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok’s Marginal Revolution University (you should also check out their blog, one of my daily reads). I’ve always had a passing interest in economics and now seems like a good a time as any to dive in. Even if these don’t serve a concrete purpose, I’m having a lot of fun exploring new ideas. Who knows what else that might spark.
What I’m Playing: Animal Crossing
Along with just about everyone else stuck at home. I’ve played the various iterations of Animal Crossing since I was a kid but I’ve never had this much fun before. The only danger is giving over too much of my useful time, no matter how fun.
Posts This Week:
by Owen | Mar 27, 2020 | Impromptu
“Are we going to be okay?”
That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind right now. But it’s a much harder question to answer than we think. Because it depends on what you are truly asking, and if that’s the question worth asking at all.
If the question is “Are things going to go back to normal?” then the answer is a definite and unqualified no. Things will absolutely be different. A crisis like this will always instigate change. And that’s the key.
“Normal” may be behind us, but we have the chance to decide how our new normal will look. How we act in these moments shape the outcome of our new lives. If we ignore the facts and act irresponsibly then we are sacrificing the possibility of reform and positive change. But, if we choose to react with intention, focus, and generosity, then we have a chance to come out of this better than when we entered
So are we going to be okay? Well, that’s up to you. Ask yourself instead: “How can I make things okay?” or even “How can I make things better?”
by Owen | Mar 22, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Taleb, the former options trader, has been on my mind amidst the COVID-19 Epidemic. I first came across his work in Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker article dissecting his trading. Of course, his methodology and philosophy became a series of best-selling books, namely, The Black Swan. Ever the skeptic, Taleb breaks down what he believes is a fundamental flaw in the human cognitive process and that which he has based his life on. This is the Black Swan or the random unforeseen events that we seem to rationalize away and ignore in favor of the normal. By bringing to light problems such as confirmation bias and that narrative fallacy, he highlights how our blindness and unwillingness to accept the improbable can be catastrophic.
What I Failed to Do: Keep Posting
With everything shutting down and everyone spending more and more time at home I found myself less and less interested in trying to write. It took a while to pull myself out of this hole and this roundup is more or less how I’m trying to get back into it. I’m hoping next week I can get back in the habit and start putting out more words.
What I’m Looking Forward to: Road Tripping
Well not so much a road trip as a 4 day U-Haul move, but I’ll take it. I’ll spare you the details but the short version is that I’ll be spending the next few days driving a truckload of things across the country to Texas to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic and let things settle down. I’ve never been on any sort of cross-country road trip (that I can remember), so I’m excited to see how I’ll handle it.
by Owen | Mar 15, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
Its no secret I’m a fan of Chuck P. I’ve read most of his work but somehow never found the opportunity to crack open Invisible Monsters. This one is a lot of fun, in a totally twisted way only Palahniuk can provide. An unnamed narrator tells her life story from fashion model success to disfigurement, arson, and cons. Not to mention one of the best twists I’ve ever read. I thought I could use some fun, dark reading in the midst of all of the chaos and this one definitely delivered.
What I’m Trying to Do: Maintain Routine
The coronavirus outbreak has more or less put my life at a standstill for the foreseeable future. My classes have moved online and most of my projects and work have been canceled or postponed. With all of my new free time, there is an extreme temptation to slack off and waste the days away. It’s a dangerous path. To avoid it I’m trying to keep as much of a routine as possible. I’m cutting back where needed and doing what’s responsible but still maintaining some sense of normalcy. It’s difficult but letting it go would be much worse.
A Quote I’m Thinking About:
You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Marcus Aurelius
Posts This Week
by Owen | Mar 13, 2020 | Impromptu, Philosophy
Yesterday I opened up my calendar and hit delete on every project, event, and class I had scheduled for the next two months. Everything had been canceled because of COVID-19. It was a frustrating moment. Nevertheless, I had also known it was coming for a few days. Deep down, I had prepared myself for this loss. And I knew more may come. But, I knew I could move-on. In this time of spreading infection, it may be scary to consider the worst-case scenario. But this counterintuitive practice can be our best tool.
The ancient Stoic philosophers knew that almost nothing was within their control, only how they reacted to situations. Armed with this understanding, they lead with the practice of Premeditatio Malorum — or the premeditation of potential evils and troubles. Knowing they could only control their reactions, they sought to prepare themselves for the things they feared most. To do this, they considered the worst-case scenario. They visualized the negative outcomes of their decisions and the future. By taking the time to expose themselves to the idea of these losses, they sought to quell their fears and temper their reactions. If they were prepared for the worst-case, then they were also ready with the best response — and in turn, muted their fear.
Seneca The Younger, a pillar of stoicism, took this idea even further. Despite being one of the wealthiest and most respected men in Rome, he regularly practiced poverty. Every month, Seneca would take days at a time to live as if he were poor. He would wear the cheapest clothes, eat only the crusts of bread, and sleep on the floor. He experienced what it would be like if he lost everything. A fear we all have. While it may seem masochistic, this practice kept Seneca in control. By exposing himself to the worst-case, he also revealed that he could survive, and even be happy despite his loss. In practice, he exposed the irrationality of his fear and prepared himself for its arrival. As he wrote in his letters:
“We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events…Rehearse them in your mind: exile, torture, war, shipwreck. All the terms of our human lot should be before our eyes.“
It may be depressing or anxiety-ridden to consider the worst-case scenario — what and who we might lose. But taking the time to reflect on these fears gives us the power to arm ourselves for the outcome. If and when our fears do come true, we will be all the more prepared to react as our best selves.
