If I Weren’t a Christian, I Think I’d Be a Stoic

Marcus Aurelius

Recently, I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. 

Wait, you what?

You heard me. I read the writings of an emperor of ancient Rome - Marcus Aurelius.

Okay, I’ll back up just a bit. I don’t remember exactly how I found Ryan Holiday, but it was probably in another of my searches for good books to read. Ryan is an online presence who basically promotes living like a Stoic. (More on that in a minute, because it’s not what most of you think.) He had a list of over a dozen books that he suggested you should read. One of them was Meditations.

Taking the Ultimate Vacation

Departure: February 1, 2018 - Her body rests in peace. Her spirit, her soul, leaps for joy.

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How do you plan for your vacations?

These days, you probably do almost all of it online.

You pick a fun destination. (Google) You set departure and arrival and return dates. (Google calendar) You determine the costs. (Google spreadsheet) You book hotels. (Kayak)

Bedtime Prayers: Now I Lay...Meh

Confession time.

For many more years than I can remember, I didn’t say any prayers at bedtime. Not that you have to, but it is a good idea.

I probably stopped while quite young. Six years old? Seven? Eight? Ten? Who knows? (Maybe you did too.)

Some time within the past couple of years, I thought about saying bedtime prayers again and started to say one in my head after lying down for the night.

Guess which prayer I chose.

New Year Resolutions Are Stupid, So I'm Taking a Challenge Instead

I've never been one to make New Year resolutions. I really can't remember ever setting any up for myself. I guess that means I've always thought they were stupid.

We all know that those who do make a New Year resolution are just setting themselves up for failure. We even joke about it. Instead of asking what someone's resolution is or how they're doing at keeping it, we're more likely to ask when they broke it.

So for 2018 (and any future year you care to insert here), why not take a challenge instead of making a resolution?

10 Things That Will Soon Disappear Forever (According to Kiplinger)

In early December of 2017, I read this slideshow (hopefully it’s still there for you) that listed what a couple of Kiplinger writers thought would soon disappear from everyday living for most people relatively soon.

I realized immediately that I needed to comment on the items they chose because there are some that many people should already know about, some that I hadn’t really thought about (and are likely correct), and one that is technically wrong.

The 4 Worst Christmas Songs

Every genre of music has lots of good songs as well as its share of crud. Christmas songs, sadly, are no exception.

What makes a song good or bad is largely a matter of taste, but not entirely. There are some qualities of a piece of music, especially music with lyrics, that make them objectively good or bad at least to some degree.

If the lyrics of such songs are simply not true, that makes a song bad. If they are terribly inappropriate for their setting, that makes the song bad. If they obviously have been changed from the original text for no obvious reason without making the lyrics better, then the change has made them worse.

With those premises in place, I offer to you the 4 worst Christmas songs of which I know. I’m sure I could have come up with more (and please do) if I had thought longer about this, but it wasn’t worth investing any more time into this project after these titles almost immediately popped into my head.