I saw a meme that said:

The days that break you are the days that make you.

Been there. Done that. Bought the f@$king t-shirt. Immutable truth. Buckle up, buttercup.

Jimmy Duggan was right: there’s no crying in baseball.

I’m a Stoic in my personal philosophy in the Marcus Aurelius tradition and believe that:

There are only explanations; there are no excuses.

Be transparent.

Vouchsafe the sanctity and inviolable nature of your word-in other words: do what you said you were going to do.

Be accountable, but that comes with the concomitant obligation to hold others accountable and brook no foolishness.

Set firm boundaries.

Apologize when you need to, as in my case, I find myself there regularly.

Keep your side of the street clean.

Move on from defeats and heartaches and heartbreaks.

Get down off of the cross; we need the wood. After all, Jesus Christ only stayed on it one day. It’s okay to find yourself in the problem, but don’t tarry there, because your time is far better spent in the solution.

As Joe South wrote in his crossover hit “Rose Garden,” which several artists recorded, the biggest being Lynn Anderson’s recording achieving the #1 position in the country music charts in 1970 and 1971 and the #3 spot on the United States pop charts in 1971:

“I beg your pardon;

I never promised you a rose garden;

along with the sunshine;

there’s gotta be a little rain sometime;

when you take you gotta give;

so live and let live and let go;

oh oh oh oh I beg your pardon;

I never promised you a rose garden.”

Amen. I’ll close with my favorite life quote, courtesy of Mr. Cub-the late, great Ernie Banks: It’s a beautiful day. Let’s play two!!! #stoicphilosophy #noexcuses #stiffupperlip #transparency #marcusaurelius

Keep the faith. Dominus Vobiscum.

Paul