There’s a gentle rain outside.  Trees show signs of emerging leaf.  Everything that I can see seems to be waiting.  Waiting for what?  Life is a procession, one thing after another.  Cause and effect… ad infinitum.  The mind imposes the notion of delay, waiting as a holiday parade, the marching band has to march in place.  The procession bunches up and then lurches onward, costumed performers painting the atmosphere, notes fill the plenum-space between onlookers on the curb… 

I am one that looks on.  It seems this has been a long parade.  Covid waxes and wanes, the war in Ukraine is laced with atrocity, inflation world-wide accelerates,

in this country is at a 40 year high according to the New York Times.

Since I have nothing interesting to write, I will spend some time reading from “The Manual” a record of the teaching of Epictetus.  He was the slave-philosopher who taught during the reign of Domitian in AD 81-96.  His master, Epaphroditus assisted Nero the insane, murderous emperor commit suicide,  Afterwards, Domitian put Epaphroditus to death for his service to Nero. 

In form things have not changed.  Just the labels change.  Ruthless and efficient autocrats are not uncommon.  Everyone belongs to someone else.  There are always consequences…

Epictetus founded the Epicurean school of philosophy…

I remember what Wittgenstein said:  Don’t think, … look !