November 5, 2024
Today is Election Day in the US and a more contentious election I certainly can’t remember. And today is a good day for me to practice what I have been preaching to my students for quite some time. But first a bit of background.
I have spent the last year or so trying to better understand the philosophy of Stoicism. I’m not exactly sure what got me into this, but I discovered a guy by the name of Ryan Holliday and found that a lot of what he was saying was making a lot of sense to me. So I started to dig in a bit deeper and, as the year has gone by, I am actually finding that it is making a bit of a difference in my life.
One of the practices that Stoicism has taught me is that there is really nothing I can do about so many things - I can only control that over which I have control. And basically, as I have come to understand, that over which I have control is my own mind, my own emotions, my own body, and my own thoughts. I can’t control the weather, traffic, or other people for that matter. And I have been trying to get some of my students - especially my former students who are now finding life a bit harder as they get older - to understand that, especially when they are having a hard time getting along with others.
Which takes me back to this election. I vehemently dislike the Republican candidate, mostly because I find him to be a detestable person. He has so little regard for others - women, immigrants, middle class people, just about anyone not named Donald Trump - that I just can't fathom how we could elect him to the presidency - again!!
But, in the end, all I can do is vote my heart and my conscience. I’m just one vote - but it’s all I can do. I can’t change the outcome of the election. I can’t change the way people vote. All I can do is accept what is, and pray with all my being that the country will hold together regardless of who wins. And so that is what I will do. I will vote. I will pray. And I will hope.
Ocean City, NJ
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