Nostr notes by Shevacai

Wow, we had a bit of rain over the weekend, but it turned out to ...

2023-11-26T23:50:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…74vx
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Wow, we had a bit of rain over the weekend, but it turned out to be beautigul weather.

Thank-you, keeps me going, I've been enjoying the process of doing something new.

Getting out of your comfort zone is definitely going to make you feel a bit nervous, but it's what we need to grow!

I've got a little on between now and christmas, should be a nice ending to the year. Hopefully catch up soon!

I know I'll find myself floating down that way if the waters ...

2023-11-25T20:29:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…s7r0
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I know I'll find myself floating down that way if the waters rise. Haha

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-21T13:06:42Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 40

November 21st - Once Is Enough. Once Is Forever

"A good isn't increased by the addition of time, but if one is wise for even a moment, they will be no less happy than the person who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in it."

-Chrysippus quoted by Plutarch in Moralia: "Against the Stoics on Common Conceptions," 1062 (Loeb, p. 682)

From the Author:

"Perhaps wisdom and happiness are like winning a medal in the Olympics. It doesn't matter whether you won a hundred years ago or ten minutes ago, or whether you won just once or in multiple events. It doesn't matter whether someone beats you time or score down the road, and it doesn't matter whether you never compete again. You'll always be a medalist, and you'll always know what it feels like. No one can take that away - and it would be impossible to feel more of that feeling.

The Juilliard-trained actor Evan Handler, who not only survived acute myeloid leukemia but also severe depression, has talked about his decision to take antidepressants, which he did for a deliberately brief time. He took them because he wanted to know what true, normal happiness felt like. Once he did, he knew he would stop. He could go back to the struggle like everyone else. He had the ideal for a moment and that was enough.

Perhaps today will be the day when we experience happiness or wisdom. Don't try to grab that moment and hold on to it with all your might. It's not under your control how long it lasts. Enjoy it, recognize it, remember it. Having it for a moment is the same as having it forever."

It's never a good idea to hold on too tightly to anything, I believe. Holding on to something, someone, some fortune, or some other good thing has a feeling of lack to it. You hold on so tight because you experience it rarely. You fear losing it, and so your mindset is stuck in a state of lack, of fear of losing, of fear of not feeling the good feelings again.
You must think abundance, and of course, gratitude. But you let the good times roll, and roll on. You wave goodbye as the good things vanishes into the distance, and before you know it, it's back at your heels.

“If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.”

- Kahlil Gibran

But it's also important to experience and come to peace with the bad times. Let them too roll. Wish them on their merry way, with gratitude for lessons learned.
Think in terms of tides. Of pendulums. Learn to sway with, do not be out of frequency, and find more greatness in the great, and more stability of self in the not so great.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-19T13:16:24Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 38

November 19th - Maxims from Three Wise Men

"For any challenge we should hold three thoughts at our command:
'Lead on God and Destiny,
To that Goal fixed for me long ago.
I will follow and not stumble; even if my will
is weak I will soldier on.'"

-Cleanthes

"Whoever embraces necessity count as wise,
skilled in divine matters."

- Euripides

"If it pleases the gods, so be it. They may well kill me, but they can't hurt me."

- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 53

From the Author:

"These three quotes compiled by Epictetus show us - in wisdom across history - the themes of tolerance, flexibility, and, ultimate, acceptance. Chealthes and Euripides evoke destiny and fate as concepts that help ease acceptance. When one has a belief in a great or higher power (be it God or gods), then there is no such thing as an event going contrary to plan.

Let's practice this perspective today. Pretend that each event - whether desired or unexpected - was will to happen, willed specifically for you. You wouldn't fight that, would you?"

This makes me think of the meme of the downtrodden man saying "Jesus, why do you give me your hardest battles", and Jesus is replying "because you are my strongest soldier" or something silly.

We find ourselves in situations that feel like uphill battles, and some may feel constant and never ending. But these events are lessons, and maybe if you push too hard against them, you find you lose more and more traction, slip further into what you perceive as near ruin. When this happens it's time to reassess. In some cases it's not meant for you, or not the right timing, and theres another opportunity to grasp hold of.

Someone very close to me has been working hard to build a business over the last few years, and while things look amazing, his work is fantastic, his business has not yet reached a point where he feels like his hard work has paid off. He's had wins, here and there, but ultimately feels like he's pushing through the deepest of depths. He expressed to me he was going to close the business down, and I told him not to worry if it comes to this, as it may release the pressure and allow things to flow, and for something to come along. Within three days of beginning to shut things down, someone reached out to him to collaborate, and it flipped things around in a positive way for him immediately.

Through all this pushing and struggle, he's also found a much higher calling, something he really wants to do. The original business, afterall, was not his passion. But he was able to let go, and dig deep, and that lightbulb moment occured and he has his mission.

It's still a process, but this was his fate. To learn the hardships, the struggles, the dispair, so he can truly experience the goodness, happiness and fruits of his labour.

We talk a lot about this period of his life, and he often wonders why there are so many setbacks, what is this telling him, how can he succeed. And we came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. You keep going, maybe not pushing, but you just keep allowing opportunities to come, try to make something worthwhile, but never accept defeat or failure.

Interesting perspective indeed. I thought of 1 as "If you ...

2023-11-19T12:54:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…kr3h
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Interesting perspective indeed.
I thought of 1 as "If you can't verify truth, then don't. Don't hold positions you're not sure about, but use discenment in how much energy you give to those things."

For example, I don't accept the 'facts' we're given on many things in the world, such that there are many differing angles that one can take. The current Israel/Palestine war is an example I can use. There are people making good and bad points on both sides, depending who they support. They say x, y and z about one or the other, and I'm generally uncertain about if it's the truth, or if it's embellished to some point to pull heartstrings. I don't know the history, motivations, instigators, etc, so I can't accept what people just say.

For the common good aspect of number 2, I think of that as centralized and very small scale, because those are things that are more within my power. My family is whom I direct my energy to for the common good. Generally it's being a supportive son, taking on physical burdens and helping with emotional/financial burdens. I believe that if I can help my family the best way I can, and then possibly my community, then it's for a common good. But I don't assume the common good in the sense that I don't push a direction of my prefered outcome, only support those in which I align with.

Both relate to me as a man with a centralized power over my actions and thoughts.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-18T13:28:33Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 37

November 18th - Four Habits of the Stoic Mind

"Our rational nature moves freely forward in its impressions when it:
1) accepts nothing false or uncertain;
2) directs its impulses only to acts for the common good;
3) limits its desires and aversions only to what's in its own power;
4) embraces everything nature assigns it."

-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.7

From the Author:

"... let's align our minds along these four critical habits:

1. Accept only what is true.
2. Work for the common good.
3. Match our needs and wants with what is in our control.
4. Embrace what nature has in store for us."

Accepting only truth, or nothing uncertain, can be quite difficult without total knowledge, and in this day and age there are many things claimed to be true that are obfuscated, whether intentionally, or through lack of understanding/research. You must use critical thinking, as best you can, to determine if a claim is truth, or bad actors are attempting to lead you astray.

With misinformation being talked about by media, govt. officials and orgs, and people on social media, it's pretty clear that there is an agenda on who determines the truth. I think many could agree that those who claim for control over what we are fed as truth have something to hide. But that's not to say everything that is condemned by them /is/ truth. Use critical thinking.

Number three and four are very much about not striving for control outside and over that which cannot be in our control. Nature is as does. We can only accept what comes, and must not complain, lest we expend our energy complaining instead of using the momentum to steer in a direction that works for us, within our wants, needs, and abilities.

Great build, Jeff. Very snappy website, feels great to use. ...

2023-11-13T14:49:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…9zse
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Great build, Jeff. Very snappy website, feels great to use.
Expansion on the categories may be super necessary, as there is no "politics" label, "Animals, pets, cute things" type category maybe too.

A few phone/os/ type posts popped up that didn't really fit in with Science and tech > internet tech. Maybe more like a "hardware/software" option in there too.

I'm not sure how expansive you wish for this to be though.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-12T14:48:34Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 31

November 12th - The Strong Accept Responsibility

"If we judge as good and evil only the things in the power of our own choice, then there is no room left for blaming gods or being hosile to others."

-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.41

From the Author:

"As the president of our own lives - and knowing that our powers begin and end with our reasoned choice - we would do well to internalize this same attitude (Of President Truman - "The Buck Ends Here" - you have no one to blame but yourself, no one to pass the buck to). We don't control things outside that sphere, but we do control our attitudes and our responses to those events - and that's plenty. It's enough that we go into each and every day knowing that there is no one to pass the buck to. It ends with us."

I wrote a post on Twitter a year or two ago (I'm not much of a poster, so it was a spur of the moment thought that I needed to get out) in regards to taking responsibility, and that I'm seeing more and more that people of all ages no longer take responsibility for many things in their lives, and rather outsource these things to others. Whether it's authorities, people they see as better equipped than them, for lack of interest or time to find the answers and confidence to take into their own hands their lives.

The post was very much centered on health at that stage, and that people will not take responsibility for what they eat, drink, or what they put on their bodies, and blame illness on factors out of their control (there are very few of these I honestly believe), or other people 'making them sick'. They then go to the doctor, who's education consisted of very short period on diet, and possibly nothing on light environment or other energetic aspects. These doctors do not treat root cause most often, and prescribe pills in many cases. This is outsourcing health because one cannot take responsibility.

Another is finances. We're seeing through Bitcoin how we can take responsibility in a greater way of our finances, but I fear that self custody is going to be an uphill battle, since people seemingly don't understand the importance of taking responsibility.

I think a fear of many is that if they fuck something up for themselves, they can't claim miscommunication, mistreatment, or misallocation and absolve themselves of the mistake.

It takes real courage to admit mistakes, to learn and grow from them. It takes humility, too, to face up and tell someone you were wrong. But when it comes to your own self, humility is admitting you don't know, and finding answers for yourself, testing and verifying things (such as a carnivore diet for health), and courage is taking the steps to take control of your life and removing those safety nets that don't help, but rather hinder and reduce the freedom and quality of life you may have.

"What beliefs do you maintain that no longer serve your ...

2023-11-12T11:35:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…dqj2
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"What beliefs do you maintain that no longer serve your desires?" Is a good question that everyone should ask themselves.

I feel like a lot of beliefs that I have held (and still have some lingering thoughts on) is about other people, and it's partly judgemental in that I believe the vast majority of people are asleep in their daily lives, and I don't blame them. It's all too easy to fall into apathy when their lives are filled with drudgery, fear, whatever. I see it when I see people buying junk, poison filled foods in the grocery store, or when I see people taking no concern about others in the flow in traffic (taking forever to move off from a set of lights for example), that lack of any sparkle in their eyes as they move through life semi blindfolded, and I can't help but feel a little frustration towards that apathy.

But it does not serve me.

But it does allow me to hold myself to a certain standard, to keep aware of those around me on the roads, in the stores, on the street. I acknowledge and smile, and hope that I leave people with a good feeling after any kind of interaction.

I believe this is all just part of the balance and harmony of the universe, in that I hope to raise people's vibration, and therefore the collective.

So I guess it's a little bit of a double edged sword, but I care a lot about others, maybe to a slight detriment.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-11T13:26:24Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 30

November 11th - It's Not The Thing, It's What We Make Of It

"When you are distressed by an external thing, it's not the thing itself that troubles you, but only your judgement of it. And you can wipe this out at a moments notice."

-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.47

Excerpts from Author:

"Franklin Delano Roosevelt, now widely regarded as one of America's greatest political leaders was, in middle age, diagnosed with polio after spending years preparing for and dreaming about the presidency.
It's impossible to understand FDR without understanding this disability. The "external thing" was that he was crippled - this was a literal fact - but his judgement of it was that it did not cripple his career or his personhood. Though he was certainly the victim of a then incurable disease, he wiped away - almost immediately - the victim's mentality.

Let's not confuse acceptance with passivity."

I've talked about external factors, and most people describe them as 'happening to them'. In this case I would admit polio happened upon FDR, but most things that can be described as negative, which may be allowed to affect ones outlook on life, or to sully their day, doesn't 'happen to them'. It happens, and we take it on board, and allow it to affect us, rather than let it be an outside factor that does not have to sour us.

Things happen, and our opinion of it is all that we can control, it's all that we have. Why would you bemoan, constantly, things that feel like setbacks, incidents that cost or waste time, when we could rather use our energy to strive onwards, look at the bigger picture, see it for a tiny blip that likely won't matter in a day, month, 5 years.

Tying this into another aspect of the universe - 'where thoughts go, energy flows.' What you focus on, you attract, and over-thinking, worrying, or complaining about certain things that are happening doesn't make your situation any better - you may just appear as a victim - and in many cases, worrying is just putting yourself though an impending horrible situation twice. Why would you do that to yourself?

I had a housemate who would get very serious when I described myself or someone else as "Happy-go-lucky", because it's such a rare attribute to a person, and that it's not a term to 'throw around' as it were. But I really think that people who can differentiate themselves from the things happening, and focusing on the silver lining, or considering everything to be a real gift for growth, to be exactly this kind of person. I even consider myself to be somewhat happy-go-lucky. Many things tend to work out for me, theres no resistance, opportunities pop up and sometimes I'm wise enough to recognise them.

You didn't add #footstr to the description! Feets is art too!

2023-11-06T13:39:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…c5rm
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You didn't add #footstr to the description! Feets is art too!

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-06T13:34:00Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 25

November 6th - Someone Else Is Spinning The Thread

"If the breaking day sees someone proud,
The ending day sees them brought low.
No one should put too much trust in triumph,
No one should give up hope of trials improving.
Clotho mixes one with the other and stops
Fortune from resting, spinning every fate around.
No one has had so much divine favor
They they could guarantee themselves tomorrow.
God keeps our lives hurtling on,
Spinning in a whirlwind."

- Seneca, Thyestes, 613

From the Author, paraphrased:

"To the ancients, Clotho, one of the three Greek goddesses of fate 'spun' the thread of human life. She decided the course of the events of our lives - some good. Some bad.

A triumph becomes a trial, a trial becomes a triumph. Life can change in an instant. Remember, today, how often it does."

"When the gods send evil, one cannot escape it."

- Aeschylus, playwright.

I'm constantly reminded that 'this too shall pass'. It seems that everytime I go through a rough time, the goddesses relieve me, let me breathe fresh air once again. I don't tend to go through many trials, or maybe I do and just don't notice how bad it could be for others if they were in my situation. I see others go through great trials, though, and then see their triumphs on the way, and it reinforces the ups and downs of life, and to not spend time wallowing on the trials, nor celebrating the triumphs, but to look forward to each trial as an opportunity to triumph over, then onto the next.

Fate is spun outside of our control, and we never know what tomorrow will bring. The only thing we can control is how we react to each hurdle and haven.
Remember; This too shall pass, and the clouds will part, and the sun will shine on your face. But don't spend too much time basking, because there is much work to do.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-05T13:28:45Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 24

November 5th - A Higher Power

"This is the very thing which makes up the virtue of the happy person and a well-flowing life - when the affairs of life are in every way tuned to the harmony between the individual divine spirit and the will of the director of the universe."

-Chrysippus, Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, 7.1.88

From the Author:

"It's also clear that this wisdom is beneficial to us all. you don't have to believe there is a god directing the universe, you just need to stop believing /you're/ that director. As soon as you can attune your spirit to that idea, the easier annd happier your life will be, because you will have given up the most potent addiction of all: control."

So the author (Ryan Holiday and/or Stephen Hanselman) talks about 12 step programs for addicts, and how many get stuck on step 2 - acknowledging a higher power, and getting out of their own way.

Serenity Prayer:

"God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference."
-Reinhold Neibuhr (1892-1971)

A very well known prayer that tends to pop up a lot in addiction recovery programs, because it allows one to give oneself a chance to let go, and come to terms with the fact there are things one can't control. Life is much more peaceful and simple when you (As Brisket (npub1jmy…6xcq) said) "Be like water". To stop trying to herd cats, or at least to not give rise to negative feelings and energies when the cats climb up curtains, hide under couches and push glasses of water off tables instead of being corralled by you.

"The tighter we weave the yarn, the longer the tapestry will ...

2023-11-05T08:09:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…0lhu
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"The tighter we weave the yarn, the longer the tapestry will last."

Pure poetry.

Has been a great weekend, surrounded by bitcoiners this weekend. Thankyou so much again!

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-04T15:09:23Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 23

November 4th - Not Good, Nor Bad.

"There is no evil in things changing, just as there is no good in persisting in a new state"

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.42

From the Author:

"When people say change is good, they're usually trying to reassure someone (Or themselves). Because instinctively we view change as bad - or at least we're suspicious of it.
The Stoics want you to do away with those labels altogether. Change isn't good. The Status Quo isn't bad. They just are.
Remember, events are objective. It's only our opinion that says something is good or bad (and thus worth fighting against or fighting for). A better attitude? To decide to make the most of everything. But to do that you must first cease fighting."

When I think of the last few years on the world stage, and the things we were told to do, think and believe, I remember the initial stages of me finally opening my eyes. I remember thinking how much I wanted to fight this overarching power structure, to deliberately disobey to prove that they had no power over me. Then after some time I realised that the truth is they don't, and therefore I don't need to fight. I will just live the way I want and pay no mind to those who wish me to act according to their agenda.

The way we feel about change is determined by how we see certain events or future trends playing out. But just like preference in music, and even the evolution of music, it's entirely opinion, not necessarily truth. One person may like Rap, and you may think it's the most awful thing to be played on the radio, but neither you or the other person's opinion is true, or correct.

I always feel some amount of disgust for the direction the general world is going, but I realise it's less important to dislike that, and more important to focus on the change I want. In myself, in who I surround myself with, in what we build, and how we can all contribute to a shared goal. In the mean time, despite everything, I make the most of, and be grateful for, all the good and positive things.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-11-03T14:36:07Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 22

November 3rd - Following the Doctors Orders.

"Just as we commonnly hear people say the doctor prescribed someone particular riding exercises, or ice baths, or walking without shoes, we should in the same way say that nature prescribed someone to be diseased, or disabled, or to suffer any kind of impairment. In the case of the doctor, prescribed means something ordered to help aid someone's healing. But in the case of nature, it means that what happens to each of us is ordered to help aid our destiny"

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.8

From the Author:

"... When it comes to external events, we fight like hell if anything happens contrary to our plans. But what if, Marcus asks, a doctor had prescribed this exact thing as a part of our treatment? What if this was as good for us as medicine?..."

My understanding of this is what makes us grow. Taking responsibility makes us grow a sense of self preservation, perhaps. Being forced to take a look at what you're doing, via some illness of sorts that come from a life of certain lack of activity, nature, nourishing food, is the same thing.

Illness is often no more than a cry from your body to reassess the environment you're in, the thought patterns and beliefs you entertain all day, and the people who's ideas are pushed onto you in some way or another. "We fight like hell" if we become sick in the middle of an important timely event in our life, so that we can successfully navigate through stresses and deadlines. But why do we only fight then, and not in every day to ensure our bodies are in best physical and mental health? Lessons to be learned are medicine for the growth of our self.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-10-31T12:55:04Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 19

October 31st - You were Born Good

"The human being is born with an inclination toward virtue."

- Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 2.7.1-2

"All of us have been made by nature" Rufus said, "so that we can live free from error and nobly - not that one can and another can't, but all."

From the Author:

"The notion of original sin has weighed down humankind for centuries. In reality, we're made to help each other and be good to each other, We wouldn't have survived as a species otherwise."

I think it's important to note the last sentence, despite all the horrible ways people treat others, from positions of assumed/non consensual authority (Which makes it's way into media seemingly more than good), the fact we've lasted so long is the majority population will come together for mutual benefit and coordinate peacefully with one another. The majority of people are good, with perhaps a small minority being selfish, and another small minority being outright evil.

I like "Bill and Ted"'s saying "Be excellent to each other". Excellency isn't just a higher 'tier' of goodness, but encompasses striving to do the best you can by another.

"You were born with an attraction to virtue and self-mastery. If you've gotten far from that, it's not out of some inborn corruption but from a nurturing of the wrong things and the wrong ideas."

Many are led astray from the path of goodness, of excellency, to their own lives and to their interactions with others. Virtue has been spun, perverted perhaps. Or maybe in a Libertarian way, it's only expanded, but I think virtue as we see it (to use a very common phrase - 'Virtue Signalling') is not what real virtue is. Real virtue isn't blind to truth, ignorant to nature, or 'forcing square pegs into round holes'. When it comes to whats true, and what comes from nature, we must not just accept everything as virtuous, but I think we must always be excellent to each other.

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-10-28T13:35:30Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 16

October 28th - We were Made for Each Other

"You'll find more quickly an earthly thing kept from the earth than you will a person cut off from other human beings"

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.9.3

From the Author:
"Naturally, Marcus Aurelius and the rest of the stoics were not familiar with Newtonian physics. But they knew that what went up must come down.
That's the analogy he's using here: our mutual interdependence with our fellow human beings is stronger than the law of gravity."

Aristotle called us 'social animals', in that we need to be there for others, and allow others to help us. We need to have that energetic connection that, despite the radical advances of technology and social networks we've built (I don't necessarily mean 'social networks like facebook at twitter'), we're possibly not as connected to each other as the Romans and Greeks were, or any period leading up to the 21st century.

What I like most about these thoughts is how I can tie them into Bitcoin - something we can talk about, philosophise and dream about, and give us a reason to create real world communities, because it's something that is so completely tied to the real world. Allowing us to interact with each other, to share, help, provide, support each other. It's a connection that surpasses hobby trends and financial means.
Socialising is what makes us human. Being able to interact with honesty in our word and our Medium of Exchange, backed by proof of our work, as well as the protocol makes that socialising so mutually beneficial.

gm tata, its breadtiem for me, so gn!

2023-10-20T14:33:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…pkeq
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gm tata, its breadtiem for me, so gn!

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the ...

2023-10-17T13:18:58Z

The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Day 5

October 17th - The Benefit of Kindness

"A benefit should be kept like a buried treasure, only to be dug up in necessity.... Nature bids us to do well by all.... Wherever there is a human being, we have an opportunity for kindness"

-Seneca, On the Happy life 24.2-3

Except from notes
'..and you can treat them well and be better off for it. The same is true with the second person you encounter, and the third. Of course, there is no guarantee that they will return the favor, but that's not our concern. As always, we are going to focus on what we control: in this case, the ability to choose to respond with kindness'

I read years ago the difference between being 'nice', and being 'kind', was; kind is loving and honest, nice is pleasing and positive (though not always honest, and not always with loving intentions)

I've always prefered to try to be kind, as opposed to nice, but it can be difficult being blunt with people who's feelings you might not want to offend.
But being kind can absolutely be of mutual benefit.

Anecdote - I spent nearly 2 hours speaking with a homeless guy, early/mid 50s, today. He spends time out front of the shopping center I frequent, and I'd had some passing conversations with him previously. Today I sat and really had a good conversation. At the end of it he told me, along the lines of, 'because of who I am, and my not wanting to go into shelters with people who are on drugs, I don't have a lot of friends... this morning I prayed that someone, likeminded, would talk with me" and I responded "And here I am".

I don't just simply want to equate what I did with 'kindness', but how often is it that someone may strike up a conversation that isn't just shallow pleasantries.

Be kind to someone today.

Nothing more comforting and homely than a shed.

2023-09-24T11:59:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…wj3w
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Nothing more comforting and homely than a shed.

Holy shit. Makes me think of Metalocalypse style cartoon ...

2023-04-11T08:34:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…2p5n
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Holy shit.
Makes me think of Metalocalypse style cartoon brutality.

Side note, #Iris needs to not jump the page down when it loads new notes. Put them in a "load new notes" button on the top of the page or something (Iris dev; Im using beta.iris.to) I had to scroll and find my position 4 times because it kept refreshing on me.

Like, actual aliens? Or some Project Bluebeam type ...

2023-04-11T07:37:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…4hdc
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Like, actual aliens? Or some Project Bluebeam type "emergency"? Because one's going to happen, and like the last "emergency", it'll likely be fake.

https://12ft.io is what i've used in the past to get through ...

2023-04-10T11:17:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…yy9c
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https://12ft.io is what i've used in the past to get through paywalls.

Oh cool, that sounds like a good educational one. Self custody ...

2023-04-10T00:37:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…ggse
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Oh cool, that sounds like a good educational one. Self custody should absolutely be everyones first step. Lot of good resources out there on how to do so too. But with your help, I'm sure your mum will have no issues when the time comes (if not already done).

Start a fight. Tell someone to HFSP

2023-04-07T09:57:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…a0wr
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Start a fight. Tell someone to HFSP

I'll try to remember to have a listen. I love ambient music, ...

2023-03-17T20:32:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…0n0e
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I'll try to remember to have a listen. I love ambient music, but it's gotta be kind of specific sounding.

I wonder how Instagram links work here. (relevant) ...

2023-03-13T10:00:54Z

I wonder how Instagram links work here. (relevant)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cpt8MQnOiAT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Beautiful. I'm not even a hardware music guy, but damn this ...

2023-03-08T05:32:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…6zc7
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Beautiful. I'm not even a hardware music guy, but damn this is nice.

Thankyou kindly!

2023-03-08T04:33:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…6thk
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Thankyou kindly!

How does one even see global on amethyst? I haven't figured ...

2023-03-08T01:59:03Z

How does one even see global on amethyst? I haven't figured it out in the 20 seconds I spent looking.

Matata pls! I'm late but think of the children (it me, ...

2023-03-07T01:51:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…s5l3
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Matata pls! I'm late but think of the children (it me, I'm children)