One Third of My Light Is Gone

"...And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was darkened. And the day did not shine for a third part of it,, and the night in like manner." --Rev. 8:12

I have three sons. One of them is in the spirit world. On October 26, 2009, one third of the light in my life went out forever.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Stoic Warriors


I bought this book for the library where I work, and thought Maris might like to read it so I checked it out for him.

When I first read a review of the book, I had a wave of emotion come over me...as it does whenever I realize a deep truth. I realized that in addition to whatever else Maris might be, he was certainly stoical. Perhaps he did not intend to be that way, but he was that.

An interesting discussion with the author of this book includes the following: "Some have argued that there is a growing gap between the culture of military service and its ethos of service before self, and our civilian culture, which focuses on individual flourishing and material self-interest. In an age of increasing professionalization and privatization of the military, this seems an inescapable question for us today. "

I often feel as if I do not belong in this world, and I know Maris felt the same way.

He was a lot more courageous and honest than I am.


2 comments:

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Anonymous said...

thank you for sharing this book. I am going to ask the college librarians to order this book for me. It is always a pleasant experience to teach the Stoics in my Intro to Philosophy classes. The students really seem to connect with these views, especially with te ideas that a person is responsible for what they can truly control (which is internal).