April 1, 2020
Sometimes a song just makes you feel tender. I am listening to this one right now. I do not know what I am feeling, but I want to cry with someone—perhaps even with somebody I have never met before. Crying alone is good, but crying with somebody else is deliciously sweet. These lyrics just came on:
I'm coming to the brink of a great disaster
End just has to be near
The Earth spins faster, whistles right past you
Whispers death in your ear
Don't pretend you can't hear
Don't pretend you can't
It was not planned this way but death is going to be a theme at the Stoa this week. Adam Robbert will be doing a session on philosophy and death tomorrow, inspired by this thought from Phaedo: “I am afraid that other people do not realize that the one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for death and dying.” On Sunday, Jared Janes will be doing a memento mori (“remember that you must die”) inquiry.
Tomorrow, I will have a conversation with Stephen Jenkinson, who created the Orphan Wisdom philosophy, which invites us not to take our eyes off death. I sense that this is going to be a profound conversation. Just listen to his voice. There is a weight of sensitivity and depth to it. His lyricism, combined with that Canadian accent, make it a treat to listen to.
In the video I linked, he says, “It is the end of life that gives life a chance.” Any good Stoic knows that death is not a bad thing, and that it will serve us well to build a relationship with it, and with the unknowingness it brings.
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Tomorrow’s events:
COVID-19: A War Broke out in Heaven w/ Zachary Stein. April 2nd @ 1:00 PM ET. Learn more. RSVP here.
Philosophy: The Practice for Death and Dying w/ Adam Robbert. April 2nd @ 6 PM ET. Learn more. RSVP here.
Existential Dance Party w/ Collin Morris. April 2nd @ 7:30 PM ET. Learn more. RSVP here.*
*Check out this awesome video Collin made for the Existential Dance Party!
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