Worm Food

These thoughts were on my mind, and I jotted them down in my journal on Monday. I felt compelled to put them up here on the off chance someone might find them (useful).

I felt compelled to write these thoughts down. They are not empirical, but they do have a certain truthiness.

• Markets are more robust, lifting more people, when they are free from monopolies of any kind.
• The government itself is a kind of monopoly that can influence overall economic performance, either for good or bad. Therefore, regulation and stimulation, both of which will always have unforeseen consequences, must be carefully considered before being implemented.
• Unregulated markets tend to evolve into monopolies or oligarchies that maintain their status-quo by suppressing creativity, innovation, and overall economic growth. Everything becomes zero-sum.
• Every market has winners and losers. When the elites perceive themselves as losing, they will use any means necessary to protect their power. They will also convince themselves they are acting for the greater good. Some won’t care about the greater good so long as they benefit.
• “What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee,” but the bees are not very good at recognizing what is good for them—especially when what is bad for the hive is pitched as being good for it. The inverse of Marcus Aurelius’s truism is patently false. Otherwise, nobody would poison the common well for their own profit.
• Humans are remarkably immune to cognitive dissonance. Double think is a real thing.
• I believe Greenspan was correct when he said the biggest problem with the economy was that nobody took the long term view. When asked why, he said, “because in the long run, we’re all dead.”

We are all “food for worms.” Memento mori.

Avoiding the Shit Storms

Like an enema, ego can really start some shit. Photo source: Shutterstock

Ego is the enema. I wish this were my pun. I first heard it on an episode of the TV series M.A.S.H. Even though I can’t find the quote on the Internets, that’s where I remember it from. I believe Hawkeye Pierce said,

What brought it back to mind was listening to Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic podcast this morning. He mentioned his book Ego Is the Enemy in passing. As I was showering, getting ready for work, the pun hit me.

But it’s more than a pun. When ego gets involved, that’s when the shit starts to flow. Ego can lubricate everything into a slippery slope to discord and conflict. Well, the conflict has usually already started. That’s what causes ego to flare in the first place.

I’m working on avoiding egotistic shit storms, and Holiday’s podcast and books are helping me be more aware of when ego gets involved. Then, at least, I can try to step back from it.

Memento morti.

Grateful Monday

I am always grateful for these two cute dogs—even when they eat my shoes.

I got to give Milam Touch of Love a check to cover buying materials for the new dog run at the City of Cameron pound. Photo by Suna

Harvey and Suna both love to sing, and I enjoy listening to them.

A big black dog

Little too much gray around the muzzle

A big black dog

Why she ended up at the pound is a puzzle

—Emmylou Harris and Will Jennings

This week is another of those that prove the need to cherish the things that don’t go to plan as much as those that do. Everything you experience goes how you want it to, benefits you or your community in unexpected ways, or teaches you something that will make you a better person going forward.

Sarita snags … again.

The Sarita sale keeps hitting snag after snag. On Friday, the title company called for payoff so they could complete the settlement statement. The mortgage company “couldn’t find the loan.” By the time this snag was resolved, it was too late to finish the statement today. They can finish it on Monday, but FHA requires three days to review it. That would put closing on Thanksgiving Day. Looks like next Monday will be the earliest we can close.

The incompetence of title companies and mortgage companies is outside of my control. I’m doing better at accepting this reality. The Realtor® helping us with the sale thanked me for “being so patient.”

Better living through chemistry. Right? Not so much. I’m grateful to be learning to focus on what I can affect.

Cars are expensive!

Through a series of decisions, we now own three cars that need to be inspected, licensed, and maintained in November. This year, I failed to set up a reserve to handle this expense. So of course, my car needed thousands of dollars in repairs.

The timing is set and can’t be changed unless I trade vehicles. The lack of reserves is something I can correct, and I will.

I am grateful I had more than enough set back in the family’s general reserve account to cover the combined expense.

Tractor Supply rocks!

Suna and I went to the Herne Tractor Supply to buy things for the horses. While we were there, we got to talking with a really nice guy who turned out to be the store manager … at least, until January sometime.

He helped us find all the materials we need to build a big dog run for the City of Cameron’s pound. Now that we know where to find all the materials, Hearts, Homes, and Hands cut a check to Milam Touch of Love, the charity that supports pounds and animal rescues in Milam County, to cover the expense. Next week, we will go pick up all the materials, and my nephew Chris has promised to help put the run together over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I am so grateful we could help further the work of MToL and help take care of the lovely animals who end up in the Cameron pound.

Gratitude (Introduction)

Cesar reportedly had a slave to remind him of his mortality. Stoicism suggest we approach every action, every decision as if it were our last. Photo source: The Daily Stoic Store

Of Fronto, [I have learned] how much envy and fraud and hypocrisy the state of a tyrannous king is subject unto, and how they who are commonly called ευπατρίδαι, i.e. nobly born, are in some sort incapable, or void of natural affection.

—Marcus Aurelius

I know you, my theoretical readers, have noticed I don’t blog religiously. A lot of my blogging is playing catch-up, copying what I have written for other publications into this solitary reliquary.

What I do, or try to do, religiously is journal. That’s right, on paper. I’ve found using electronic journaling leads to focusing on minutia at the expense of more important matters. I can jot down a bullet point if something is important enough and then review those jottings to keep my focus on what matters.

Part of my journaling practice involves meditating on what I am grateful for each day. I focus on two things first thing in the morning as part of my wake-up transition. I also leave room for one more to be discovered in the course of the day. That way I am reminded to always be on the lookout for something to be grateful for. As Marcus Aurelius said, “The quality of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”And I want the quality of my thoughts to guide me toward gratitude and tranquility...as well as financial success. Those three goals are not mutually exclusive. According to Maslow, they are linear and dependent.

I first read Aurelius either late in high school or early in college. I’ve kept a copy of his Meditations with me ever since. As a stoic, he believed that we should be grateful for everything that happens to us—good, bad, and indifferent.

We don’t know if a thing is good or bad when we experience it. We can only make that determination in hindsight, once we look back and see its effects. For example, a friend of mine developed sever stomach pains. It turned out she had an ulcer. But in diagnosing the cause of the pain, her doctors found out she had picked up a parasite on a South American vacation a couple of weeks before. The parasitic infestation was not advanced enough to cause symptoms, but the ulcer enabled them to find it before it started doing irreparable damage to her organs. Her ulcer, painful as it was, turned out to be a good thing.

Thinking about that, I realized I should publish my gratitude on this blog in the unlikely event that someone will find it interesting or useful. I will start with today’s three items and incorporate future and past items as I can.

Penny and Carlton often make us go,“Awwww.” Photo by: Suna

Today’s Gratitude

Suna’s company

Until she retires, we are maintaining separate residences. She lives in Austin half-time and at the ranch with me the other half. I really appreciate her company when she is here. I also appreciate her absence when she is gone because it reminds me how much I enjoy the time I do get to spend with her.

The Daily Stoic

This podcast reminds me that everyone faces trials and tribulations. These rough patches can be prepared for and are not so upsetting if you teach yourself to expect them. It taught me that I have always tried to live a semi-stoic lifestyle. Like Buddhism, stoicism is a practice, not an accomplishment.

Carlton and Penny

These two have been exceptionally sweet today. They made Suna and I both go, “Awwww” many times.