Stoic recalibration!
Dec. 20th, 2018 08:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsOne of the more notorious Stoic exercise is the Premeditation of Adversity. Shallow critics of the practice say it tends to make Stoics gloomy; all Stoics do all day is think about death and decay. It's an unfair criticism; the meditation is suppposed to be intermittent, not ongoing, and it's purpose is to hold you back on the hedonic treadmill by making you appreciate what you already have. Transience should make us aware of the existing gifts the universe has bestowed upon us before we think about seeking out new pleasures and recreations.
Once in a while, though, something happens that teaches you that your list of disasters is deficient. I've contemplated and even written up a sort of script to follow if my wife or one of my children is killed, or injured, or disabled in some way. I've contemplated what to do if the house burns down, or if I lose my sight, or any number of other disasters.
I was not prepared for Tumblr's shutdown. I hadn't realized just how many habits I had built around access to Tumblr. As I wrote earlier, Tumblr was the one social network where I enjoyed most of the interaction. My brain's end-of-phone signal was to rull through a bit of Tumblr and reblog a few things. Tumblr was where my recreations lived— the fandoms I participated in, the artists I admired, and yes the erotica and pin-ups I enjoyed. Tumblr was a happy place.
Tuesday, I found myself somewhat unable to function. I ended up sitting on the couch and staring at the ceiling, dysfunctional and missing that happy place. I've recovered, and yes, I did a few Stoic writing exercises to get over it, but "losing Tumblr" was not on my list of things. I didn't have a script.
And I don't want to try to cobble together an alternative out of various feeds, collections, services and the like. Tumblr, like Usenet, is simply no longer a friendly place for people like me— people who like sex and like consent and like pleasure— and I should accept that and move on.
But I also need to look at all the daily activities I have and recalibrate my meditations to include them as well. I know on the one hand I have a bit more free time, but whether I'm going to do anything useful with it on the other is still up for some debate.
Once in a while, though, something happens that teaches you that your list of disasters is deficient. I've contemplated and even written up a sort of script to follow if my wife or one of my children is killed, or injured, or disabled in some way. I've contemplated what to do if the house burns down, or if I lose my sight, or any number of other disasters.
I was not prepared for Tumblr's shutdown. I hadn't realized just how many habits I had built around access to Tumblr. As I wrote earlier, Tumblr was the one social network where I enjoyed most of the interaction. My brain's end-of-phone signal was to rull through a bit of Tumblr and reblog a few things. Tumblr was where my recreations lived— the fandoms I participated in, the artists I admired, and yes the erotica and pin-ups I enjoyed. Tumblr was a happy place.
Tuesday, I found myself somewhat unable to function. I ended up sitting on the couch and staring at the ceiling, dysfunctional and missing that happy place. I've recovered, and yes, I did a few Stoic writing exercises to get over it, but "losing Tumblr" was not on my list of things. I didn't have a script.
And I don't want to try to cobble together an alternative out of various feeds, collections, services and the like. Tumblr, like Usenet, is simply no longer a friendly place for people like me— people who like sex and like consent and like pleasure— and I should accept that and move on.
But I also need to look at all the daily activities I have and recalibrate my meditations to include them as well. I know on the one hand I have a bit more free time, but whether I'm going to do anything useful with it on the other is still up for some debate.
