Lessons from Epictetus

22. Appropriate acts are in general measured by the relations they are concerned with. “He is your father.” This means you are called on to take care of him, give way to him in all things, bear with him if he reviles or strikes you.
“But he is a bad father.”
Well, have you any natural claim to a good father? No, only to a father.
“My brother wrongs me.”
Be careful then to maintain the relation you hold to him, and do not consider what he does, but what you must do if your purpose is to keep in accord with nature. For no one shall harm you, without your consent; you will only be harmed, when you think you are harmed. You will only discover what is proper to expect from neighbor, citizen, or magistrate, if you get into the habit of looking at the relations implied by each. (Epictetus "The Handbook")

Epictetus teaches a big lesson about family here in this passage from The Handbook. He teaches that according to nature, you are only guaranteed to have a father or mother. It is not guaranteed that you will have a good father or mother, or even a bad one. Just that you have been given a father or mother, naturally. This means that no matter how they are, they are your father or mother, and so you must treat them as such.

He also goes on to say retain your relation with him (or her) and don't think of if they are bad or good in your own standards, but instead accept that they are your parent according to nature.

This part is important in all aspects of life, family or not: For no one shall harm you, without your consent; you will only be harmed, when you think you are harmed. The only way you can be harmed, emotionally or mentally, is if you allow yourself to be harmed. Raging and being angry are actions that you allow yourself. Nature shouldn't make you upset because it has given you a bad father or mother. You are allowing yourself to dwell on the fact that you have a bad father or mother, and not accepting what nature has accorded you. The only person who can hurt you is yourself.

We have such short lives, so little time together, that to dwell and fester on the simplest things can just be a waste of time. So allow yourself to not become consumed by rage only caused by yourself and begin to enjoy your life for what nature has given you.

Friday Weigh In

June 5: 133.8
June 12: 131.6
June 22: 134.4
June 26: 133.2
July 3: 132.4
July 10: 134.0
July 17: 135.0
July 24: 134.4

August 7: 134.0

I think I have to accept the fact that I will be around this weight for awhile, unless I change a lot of things. But with my hypoglycemia, it makes it so difficult to not eat! I read articles about keeping snacking at a minimum. Yeah, I guess I should snack on better stuff... but what I snack on isn't THAT terrible. I eat granola bars, grapes, apple sauce, almonds, cheese and crackers, cheese sticks... I dunno what to do! I can't NOT eat. I can go maybe 3 hours at the most without some sort of food too. I've been drinking lots of water, but I don't know if that does anything either.

Anyway, I don't know how much working out I'll be doing in the next few weeks. We'll be moving next Friday, hopefully in Colorado by Saturday, and then staying there for a bit. Afterwards, we're going to Las Vegas, and then Los Angeles, before flying to Hawaii. I think we'll just be moving so much, and eating so much free food (haha) that I won't have time to watch the weight! Maybe if when I get to Hawaii I don't have a job right away, I can spend my time working out. Yeah. :)

My Weekend

Ok, I didn't do my weigh-in. We can safely say that I weigh about the same as I always have! Haha. I've had a crazy weekend so far... very busy. Lemme tell you. :)

Wednesday: So I'll start with Wednesday. I had work this day from 12 to 6, training for my new job. Brandon was at Ranger School. I was debating bringing my phone to the floor, just in case Brandon calls. But I told myself, and my little sister, "there's like a .1% chance he calls!" Soooo... I go on my break at 3:10 and I have 4 phone calls, one as recent as 3:02. I freaked out! He had been dropped from the course for failing land nav and I had to pick him up. His last call said he was getting a cab and he didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do either! So I tell my boss I have an emergency (this is pretty much an emergency!) and drive home. I paced the apartment for an hour and a half until he came home. Well that was a relief. So now that he was home, that meant that we were moving, ASAP. That's another freak-out on its own. That night we went to dinner with friends.

Thursday: I had a doctor's appointment to be put onto Brandon's orders. Afterwards, I went to Macy's to quit my job. I felt horrible! I had just started there and now I was gone. Oh well, though, that's the life I live now. The rest of the day was fairly relaxing, except for all the planning we're starting now.

Friday: Friday I had an oil change to refute what Wal-Mart said (that they couldn't change my oil because it was leaking). Nope, no leak, perfectly fine. Stupid Wal-Mart! After I went home to hang out, and then that afternoon I volunteered at the museum. It was my last day doing that. I decided to stop then because of all the moving stuff and stress. That night we had a little barbecue with some of Brandon's friends from work. That was fun!

Saturday: We went up to Atlanta on Saturday, originally going to a gun shop one of Brandon's friends wanted to see. Afterwards, we went to DSW for me to exchange shoes I had bought awhile ago. We had lunch there. Then we wanted to go to the Aquarium, but ended up not because the line was massive. That was sad. :( But across the street was the Museum of Patriotism! We went there and got in for way cheap because we're military. It was a pretty good museum. Then we left for the baseball field - we were meeting friends there to watch the Braves vs Dodgers game. That was a great game! After, we were so tired, we went home.

Sunday: Not much today. Errands, cleaning, grocery shopping, and going to the store with the same friend as above to look for a gun safe. Didn't find one we liked, though. I invited the friend over for dinner with us. He stayed for spaghetti and played Wii with us. We also all decided to go to Savannah this upcoming weekend to go to another gun show and spend the weekend there. How fun will that be!

Anyway, I've been super busy. Today, working out and running more errands. Then I need to read some of this moving material to get it all straightened in my head. Have a good day!