The Soul & The Storm

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

— Marcus Aurelius

I.

Take a look at your contribution to the issue. Is expressing the frustrated emotion of violence—toward self or others—ever worth it? I sometimes sense how difficult it is to feel sorry for those whose frustration consumes them, but more often than not, I don’t. I feel sorrow.

II.

Someone once taught me that Neptune frustrated Odysseus for a reason. Neptune persecuted him so he would be forced to think, to evolve, in order to achieve his teleology—which was Telemachus. If Odysseus had not experienced those trials before returning to Ithaca, the suitors may have outwitted him, and he may have failed in achieving his task.

III.

I agree. And it’s not an easy thing. But this single issue is the cornerstone of Western civilization—and older than the Bible, older than most spiritual texts themselves: frustration spurs growth. How you proceed is entirely your responsibility. Nobility is about taking the suffering and consciously not adding to it with a reactionary mindset.

I love you.

m.c.f.

❦