For some reason, and I don’t know if it will last as the weather may change again, but everyone at my house has settled into the Fall-Winter-Spring morning routine a little earlier than
anticipated. It might be because the mornings are cooler again, and sunrise doesn’t occur until 7am. But for now, after their breakfast, the petting and snuggling while I drink my coffee takes
place just as it does in January, or October, or March. The only difference is that for our walk in the cool of the morning, rather than do a loop in Cartier, we look at the Big Lake and dodge the
sprinklers.

It’s during these times and these walks that I shake my head as I ponder the political situation that seems to be going from bad to worse. My daily stoic reading is sent to me shortly after I get
up. The compiler and sender of those readings is also cognizant of current political events. He, too, seems to be shaking his head along with millions of others as he looks to Nero and Caligula
and those who had to deal with them as examples from the past. Stoicism seemed to gain its heft as the classical world’s republics and empires, in all their strengths and weaknesses,
convulsed in and out of existence between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. The two things I continually return to in my reading and walks is that I need to cultivate gratitude
and try to do good works. It seems that whatever is going on around me, if I can stay grateful and try to do good, it will work out. For better or worse, and for whatever it makes people think
of me personally, I realize that I can do little to bend the will of the current President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Israel, or the whatever he currently is of Russia. If a
powerful person hundreds or thousands of miles away from me and surrounded by sycophants and oligarchs is choosing to act without virtue, in return I can only act as I choose to act in and
around my home. Some people understand this as defeatist. I do not, and believe to the contrary.

When I give myself time and allow myself to think things through, I will choose not to argue or try to persuade. I will state a situation as I perceive it or ask questions if it will help me clarify
things. If I can follow my best inclinations (and I don’t always), I will only offer my perspective or opinion if it is sought. Another person’s point of view or decision seems to be as out of reach to
me whether I see them every day or they are on the other side of the world. In any circumstance I will always try to find something to be grateful for and try to do good. As I conduct myself in
these difficult times, when I am at my best, I will attempt to act with virtue and integrity. Whatever the ultimate outcome, I know my thoughts and actions affect me and may even have
a good effect on those around me.

As the season again begins to turn, another political cycle continues its turning. If I lived six centuries, or sixteen, how many of these cycles will I have witnessed? At this moment in time I
will choose to be grateful for my morning coffee, a walk in the renewed cool of the morning, and the time I spend with my pets, friends, and family. When I am at my best, in the midst of the
turmoil, whether the least I can do, or perhaps even the most I can do, I will try to find a way to be present, patient, and helpful to those I encounter.