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Most honored of immortals, many-named one, ever omnipotent,

Zeus, prime mover of nature, steering all things by your law,

Greetings! For it is proper for all mortals to speak to you:

For we all descend from you, bearing our share of your likeness

We alone, of all mortal creatures that live and move on earth.

So, I shall make song of you constantly and sing forever of your might.

Truly, this whole universe, spinning around the earth,

Obeys you wherever you lead, and willingly submits to your rule;

Such is the servant you hold in your unconquerable hands,

A double-edged, fiery, ever-living thunderbolt.

For by its strikes all the works of nature happen.

By it you direct the universal reason, which pervades all things

Intermixing with the great and small lights of the heavens.

Because of this you are the greatest, the highest ruler of all.

Not a single thing that is done on earth happens without you, God,

Nor in the divine heavenly sphere nor in the sea,

Except for what bad people do in their foolishness.

But you know how to make the crooked straight

And to bring order to the disorderly; even the unloved is loved by you.

For you have so joined all things into one, the good and the bad,

That they all share in a single unified everlasting reason.

It is shirked and avoided by all the wicked among mortals,

The wretched, who ever long for the getting of good things,

Neither see nor hear God’s universal law,

By which, obeying with understanding, they could share in the good life.

But instead they chase after this and that, far from the good,

Some in their aggressive zeal for fame,

Others with a disordered obsession with profits,

Still others in indulgence and the pleasurable exertions of the body.

[They desire the good] but are carried off here and there,

All the while in zealous pursuit of completely different outcomes.

But bountiful Zeus, shrouded in dark clouds and ruling the thunder,

Protect human beings from their ruinous ignorance;

Scatter it from our souls, grant that we might obtain

True judgment on which you rely to steer all things with justice;

So that having won honor, we may honor you in return,

Constantly singing of your works, as it is proper

For mortals to do. For neither mortals nor gods have any greater privilege

Than to make everlasting song of the universal law in justice.

For 2021, I have noted some thoughts and practices as "To Remember..." while performing any things.  Here are some of it:

1. Seeing things from upper level ( Recognize "Upper Level You" and "Lower Level You")
2. Don't focus on short term Happiness. It will backfire.
3. Remember these four stoic virtues: Courage, Justice, Wisdom and Self-control.
4. Looking at the nature to learn how reality works (It's smarter than all of us).
5. Memento Mori (Remember death).
6. Amor Fate (love of fate).
7. Everything happens because of the nature's will ( It's inevitable).
8. Don't suffer other people's mistake.
9. Not to do things rashly or at random and without purpose.
10. When one act is complete, go for another and then another and so on; don't seek praise.
11. Be watchful when alone.
12. Don't make assumptions.
13. Remember the Hero's Journey: Departure, Call to Adventure, Initiation, Meeting The Mentor, Crossing The Threshold, Tests, Allies, Enemies, Approach To The Inmost Cave, Ordeals,  Reward (Seizing The Sword), The Road Back, Resurrection, Return With The Elixir.
14. Everything is an experiment and keep experimenting.
15. "You can't escape the responsibilities of tomorrow by evading it today." -  A. L.

A decision is a conclusion needed for a situation. A single decision have so much power that it can bring huge impact in future.

It can controls everything…

Right decision is very hard to make. It takes courage and intuition to make correct decision at certain time. Experience also make a huge impact in making right decision. It also depends on person’s character.

One decision can change everything. So, it’s worth to be audacious and take decision.

PS: Repost as I need more about decision making today.

We hear a lot of thing that are against our vision and goals. We often hear that our ideas are used by others somewhere. And we feel incomplete and hopeless in most of the cases as we think its a used idea.

But what I want to emphasize is that if we keep doing our stuff and continue doing our work, the result will show the direction and we might reach to next level of success. There is always a better solution as a saying goes,” Everything happens for our own good.” And as stoicism says, "Limit yourself to present."

There is a saying which goes,"A happy man wants ten thousand things, but a sick person wants just one thing."

Human desire has a strange nature. The moment one goal is achieved, another appears. More success, more recognition, more possessions, more stimulation. This endless pursuit often keeps people psychologically restless, unable to appreciate what they already have.

Many philosophical traditions recognized this problem long ago. Buddhism viewed craving as a major source of suffering because attachment continuously produces dissatisfaction. Stoic thinkers like Marcus Aurelius argued that peace comes from governing perception rather than endlessly chasing external things.

Marcus wrote, “Discard your misperception. Stop being jerked like a puppet; limit yourself to the present.” His point was not that ambition is wrong, but that becoming enslaved by endless wanting destroys inner stability.

The modern world intensifies this hunger through constant comparison, advertising, and stimulation. We are repeatedly taught to focus on what is missing rather than what is already meaningful. Contentment does not mean abandoning growth. It means learning not to lose ourselves in endless dissatisfaction while pursuing it.

Here are four different types of meditation, which I came to know through my Religion class. I was aware about these but didn't exactly knew their name except for Vipassana (one of my favorites).

1. Shamatha Meditation : This meditation aims to bring our mind to rest by focusing attention to single object of awareness like breathe and refusing to let it wander. this provides calmness and stability of mind and tranquility.
2. Vipassana Meditation : It aims to produce insight into the nature of reality that is to see reality as it really is. It does so be eliminating the veil of illusion that distorts our perception of reality. It produces the liberation of mind.
3. Walking meditation : It focuses attention on the mindful taking of each and every breathe and each and every steps. It is about mindful and intentional walking by paying attention towards every movement of our body.
4. Visualization:  This aims to focus all of our attention towards a particular image.

Marcus Aurelius has been the man wisdom, strength, power, courage, and philosophy. Even though he lived around 2000 years ago, some of his words are immortal and are the lessons for today to live the life of courage, wisdom, justice and temperance.

Here are some of his quotes:

"You can live your life right now; let that determine what you do, say and think."

"See things for what they are... Do what you can... And endure and bear what you must."

“Objective judgement, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now, at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.”

“It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.”

"Throw away your books; stop letting yourself being distracted."

"Waste no more time in arguing what a good man is like; Be one."

Dare to dream big.

Focus on your dream.

Don’t let other people’s opinion move you.

Be humble and do not strive to be famous.

Strive to be talented instead.

The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche describes his formula for human greatness as "amor fati"- love of one's fate. “That one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backwards, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it….but love it.”

In one of his book he writes:

I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who makes things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the whole: some day I wish to be only a Yes-sayer...

Nietzsche had a particular fondness for a concept called (in Latin) 'amor fati', a Stoic acceptance of one's fate and a commitment to embrace reality, in all its beauty and pain. Amor Fati is the Stoic mindset that teaches us to take each and every moment - no matter how challenging - as something to be embraced and not avoided and is according to the nature's plan.

"Anything you throw in front of the fire is the fuel for the fire" - Marcus Aurelius said. So when facing the things that lie beyond our control, accepting it is only the way forward. It's about accepting, embracing and stop fighting against inevitable.

In a letter to a friend written in 1882, Nietzsche  writes, "I'm in a mood of fatalistic 'surrender to God' - I call is amor fati, as so much that I would be willing to rush into lion's jaws." And sometimes in our life I believe we should learn to join Nietzsche when facing with pain and agony.