Equanimity
A new podcast on Marcus Aurelius & Stoicism, my brush with equanimity, and my brush with Japanese White-Eye birds
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Podcastery
This week, I posted Episode 575 of The Virtual Memories Show, feat. author & therapist Donald J. Robertson as we celebrate his new book, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor (Yale University Press). We talk about how knowing the life and travails of Marcus Aurelius helps one understand how to lead a Stoic life, how the Roman empire’s Antonine Plague compares with our life in Pandemia, and how writing this biography brought him a new understanding of the intricacies of Ancient Roman life and Marcus Aurelius’ big decisions. We also get Donald’s origin story w/Stoicism, how that philosophy’s been debased into the unhealthy “lower-case stoicism”, the literal toxicity of being a tough guy, how Stoicism and its nuanced view of emotions inspired modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and why the psychotherapy field is resistant to acknowledging that contribution. We discuss the importance of building emotional resilience and understanding one’s value judgements, Robert Burns’ role as a gateway drug to Stoicism, Donald’s Eureka! moment and how he accidentally became a writer, how Wilko Johnson can help me live a fuller mortal life, and a lot more. Give it a listen and go read Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor!
Last week, I posted Episode 574 of The Virtual Memories Show, feat. journalist Elizabeth Flock and a talk about her incredible new book, THE FURIES: Women, Vengeance, & Justice (Harper), which explores the lives of three women who responded to violence with violence, and how they run up against the social institutions that seem designed to grind them down. We get into how the book grew from her interest in female vigilantes and her own experience of sexual violence, how she wound up reporting on the YPJ all-women army in Syria, how we try to reconcile revenge and a just world, and how cultures of honor wreak havoc on women and men. We talk about how she balanced reporting with the near-mythic characters of some of her subjects, what she's learned over 15+ years in journalism (like how not to re-traumatize her subjects as they tell her their stories), how women and men have responded to The Furies, guns & gun culture (& my embarrassing gun story), whether things are getting a little better for women, having her first child after finishing the book, and more. Give it a listen and go read THE FURIES!
Recent episodes: David Thomson • Sammy Harkham • Ed Subitzky • Chris Silverman • Silence, a monlogue • The Guest List • Jarrett Earnest
Equanimity
This week’s guest talks about equanimity and emotional resilience in the context of his biography of Marcus Aurelius, Stoicism, and his years as a cognitive behavioral therapist. We get into how that differs from “don’t show any emotion/keep a stiff upper lip.”
At the moment, I’m Going Through Some Things That Are Outside My Control. I’ve got friends to talk to about some of it, but more importantly I’m (finding my way into) not letting my reactions/passions rule me. I hope to let them have their say, then step back and look at them with some distance, as I Work Though It All.
No, I’m not going to share any more than that. Instead, I’ll give you one of the funniest jokes in The Nice Guys (probably my fave movie of recent-ish vintage). Russell Crowe’s character picks up his Word Of The Day desk-calendar and reads the day’s entry, “Equanimity: The quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure.” Enjoy his response.
But seriously, watch THE NICE GUYS
Postcardery
Let me know if you want to be on my postcard-a-day list. (Financial supporters of the podcast get a hand-drawn/painted postcard as a thank-you.)
Art
I got inspired by that color-test last week and actually tried to make a watercolor of a Japanese White-Eye, instead of sorta making it by accident. It came out okay, so I’m going to try to paint more of them as postcards (here’s the first one; I have no idea what to do w/the legs & talons), based on various photos I find. The postcard size is a little tough for me to adjust to, and I have to tape the corners down, lest the paper start to curl from the water. You should go to the Flickr album of most of the art I’ve made & find something you like.
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far! I’ll be back on Sunday with links, books, & somatic craziness, and Wednesday with a new episode, maybe some art, & who knows maybe a little profundity or something.
A hotline, a wanted ad / It’s crazy what you could’ve had,