I suspect this blog post is likely to have a bit of a Stoic angle to it, but that’s OK, in fact it’s a good thing. Looking at life from a Stoic angle, when things are looking pear-shaped is probably the best way to look at life, in troubling times. And these certainly are troubling times.
Writing about it here, on my writing blog makes sense though, because, well, this is where I have the most followers, and I’m hoping what I write will be worth reading for others. And a note to any newcomers to Stoic Thought – being a Stoic does not mean one must live a boring, life, with no emotional actions happening. It simply means one will accept the good, and the bad things too, and deal with them in the best way you can.
And that ‘best way you can’, doesn’t just mean best for you, it means best for you, your family and friends, your community and the entire world. So obviously, being a good Stoic is a big thing, if you’re doing it all well. I don’t imagine I will ever have a huge impact on the entire world, but if the call goes out for me, I’ll be there, doing my Stoic best!
Is writing a Stoic thing? Being a poet and writer, fiction and non fiction, books, a community newsletter, blogging. Some of it is at the more flippant end of things, some more serious. I have had lots of fun times with family and friends in my life, but I have had some terrible things happen too. Such is the way of our lives. Good and bad, and yes, if we wish to live our best possible life, we must find ways to handle all of it, and do it well.
One of my blogs talks about sexual abuse, and another of them talks of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Both of these things have been in my life. The sexual abuse happened when I was a child and teen, the MS has been with me since I was diagnosed with it in 2010, and unless there is a cure found, it will be with me forever.
I have thought long about these things, and written about them in my creative writing, firstly with the poetry collection, https://damagedchildrenpreciousgems.wordpress.com/ and more recently, https://mickjaneandme.wordpress.com/ These two books have been great and therapeutic for me, allowing me to examine things in ways where I control what is happening, and looking from a variety of different points of view. I am a firm believer in these therapeutic possibilities from creative writing. I know that other people have found help in these books, and I am glad of that.
In fact, one of my best life things to do, I suspect, would be to assist others to travel from victim to survivor, and then further, to being one who is thriving in life. This is a possible thing, I am living proof of it. I have good family and friends who love and care about me, I have a safe and secure home, with enough money available to go on living here, easily and well.
I am not held back by my Chronic Illness, and for that, I can thank both my excellent medication, and the lifestyle choices I have adopted – reduce stress, increase healthy eating, get some exercise into my life, and go on thinking about my life in positive, rather than negative ways. There are bad things in life, yes, but I am going well, and helping others to do the same, when and if I can.
So this year, 2020, was going to be the year of Great things, with the whole 2020 Vision vibe of life, but then Covid-19 came along. Did I let that make me close down, and hide away from the virus? NO! I decided what I might be able to do, to help others think about how they were doing, and how things may be improved, perhaps.
Before the year was half over, I had put out a call for submissions in response to Covid-19, and very soon I had collected a goodly number of works from around the world. I was thrilled with what I had collected, and I was encouraged to forward this ‘anthology’ to a publisher that I know, to have the anthology professionally published, if possible. I’m currently waiting to hear back from the publisher, and whether they accept this book or not, I intend to launch the anthology at the Gawler and Adelaide Plains Festival of Words, in late July 2021.
This has been my first adventure in being the editor of a big collection, and I have enjoyed it very much. There’s no telling whether or not I will take this kind of thing any further, I have certainly considered the idea of setting up as a Publisher. We’ll see what happens with this anthology first …
This ‘seeing what happens’ attitude is my Stoicism shining through. Taking advantage of opportunities, knuckling down and working when I have to. Knowing what I can do, and doing that, but also stretching myself further, to try do more. These are definitely good ways for me, and for others, to look at their own lives. It’s the old “When life gives you lemons” thing. You don’t sit back and curse, because you wanted a sweeter fruit, instead you get on with doing great things with those lemons you’ve been given!
So, overall, life in many ways is the same for us all, but oh, dangerously different, for those living where the Covid-19 virus is at loose in their community. I feel for those people, and hope that soon, scientists and other medical people can find a vaccine, or other way to finally kill the virus, for us all. It only takes one person, to spread the virus to another, and so it could go again.
Working on Climate Change, tied with action of Covid-19 seems to be how the whole world needs to go, as soon as we possibly can, for all of us!
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 