Wyoming, land of antelope, big spaces, and Stoics. Yup, it´s May again, which means it´s time for Stoic Camp. Like last year, it was held in thd mountains near Centennial, WY. Since neither the departure location or destination are near a major airport, this time I just accepted at the start that it would take me two full days to get from my home to the camp, and then everything was more manageable. Gosh, this country is big. Of course, if I had been going by covered wagon or foot like a few centuries ago, it would have taken me months, so I won´t complain.
This is what it looks like when Stoics study Stoicism. Picture forty people in a large, echoey room, taking it in turns to read a passage which we discuss. About two-thirds of the people have formal philosophical training, ranging from a few classes to PhDs, and the rest of us have just studied on our own, with books and podcasts and meetups. When the instructor says, "We splurged and bought everyone a copy of the new, annotated complete works of Epictetus," this is the kind of group that "Ooohs" very appreciatively. Even me, I must add. I am planning to keep that book, bringing the grand total of books that I am moving to Spain to one.
This year we did not have a blizzard, but there was still lots of
snow up in the mountains when we were hiking.
I was pleased that I remembered some of the things I learned last year, and I can see a few places in my life where I am applying Stoicism more regularly. I left with a renewed sense that this philssophy should be part of my life, and a few new, small goals to implement.
And if anyone is looking for a little philosophy or religion for their life, I´d like to recommend this book, How to Lead a Good Life. I read it several year ago, treating it like a menu from which I could choose the philosphy that best suited me, and it´s how I chose Stoicism.
If you want to learn more about Stoicism, you can read more at Stoicism Today, some of the podcasts from Philosophy as a Way of Life (co-hosted by the leader of the camp), or just read the Wikipedia page.
2 comments:
I applaud that you achieved a sense of stoic peace-of-mind about taking two days to get to camp in Wyoming. As we discussed, however, I intend to continue to follow the path of Epicurius.
I definitely laughed out loud when made the comment about the book appreciation. I'm very tempted to read that book but it is not available at my local library, booooo.
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