27 apr

While the abbey is the cultural highlight of this area, the cliff of La Yecla – a river nearby – is the natural highlight. It is a sometimes only one yard wide space between rocks, seemingly caused by the river that runs through it.
Water is amazing stuff. I have often been thinking that when I walked through france and Spain. Just to think that water can cause something like the Grand Canyon, and because of some peculiar different circumstances, this narrow cliff. The power of water is taking for granted. It must have ruined many wonderful landscapes. It must have caused more damage than human beings have done. But that’s all fine. The battle of water and rock is seen as an even battle, although one can predict who will be the ultimate winner. It’s a battle of nature against nature, and that’s supposedly okay. As if human beings is not a product of nature! All that dna hasn’t been developing through the ages for nothing.
Had much pleasure in reading in Abbot Jamison’s book about anger. The subjects of gluttony, lust and greed were rather boring, I have to admit and made particularly useful for the extraordinary situation of monks. And there is a good reason only a small percentage of human beings prefer such a life.
Jamison refers to the stoic philosophers regarding the subject of anger. Like Zeno and emperor Aurelius – who himself based his Meditations on reading the real stoics. Anger according to Jamison is not caused by someone’s elses behaviour, but by your own thoughts. It is a very limiting emotion, because it blurs one’s view on reality. He basically says there’s no point in getting angry. It is laziness of the heart. An excuse of supposedly emotions – according to Jamison: unreasonable thoughts – taking control. I kept highlighting his sentences.
Me, I get angry all the time. Most often when I’m tired or playing sports. But In both circumstances I can not take my angriness very seriously, although the fact that it might be very irritating for others should be taken more serious.
In business the examples of constantly furious managers are ample. Steve Ballmer, that bulldog at Microsoft comes to my mind. I like Warren Buffett as the perfect stoic manager. When something has gone wrong, he blames himself, when something has gone right, he credits others. The pain of such behaviour is softened by the fact that he got incredibly rich in the process. Which is not the same as having been greedy all the time.
The most positive thought from all these months of walking has occurred to me today. While playing sports I should become a stoic. I wonder how long I can remind myself of that attitude. If history is any guideline here, it won’t be very long. But it’s worth the effort.