Jesse Kornbluth, the eminence grise behind Headbutler, has been writing about culture for decades as an author and magazine journalist.  He has also been cultural advisor to his friends (I am fortunate to be amongst them),  an opinionated, original and generous source for both the new and the forgotten in music, books, movies and more.  Headbutler is Jesse’s online daily offering of gems that make a difference in our lives.  He navigates the mass of information and pulls out the best – not necessarily the newest and certainly not the trendiest – and usually locates his subject within a story of surprising emotion written with both wit and beauty.

This posting, on Epictetus, is one of my favorites.

I took a nap after lunch. My sleep was deep, my awakening sudden — I looked around as if I were seeing the bedroom for the first time on a fresh day, as if it were morning. The bed was made. Where was my wife? I ran to our daughter’s room. Another bed made, another loved one missing. I looked at the clock. 7:15. First thing in the morning. I raced around the house, grabbed a cell phone and dialed my wife. And only then realized it was two in the afternoon. Wife at work, kid at school, me home. The world as it should be.

Only it wasn’t. I had seen over the edge, into unspeakable loss. I shook. And spent the rest of the day, in essence, recovering.

So why have I now come to praise Epictetus, who said:

“Remember, when you embrace your child, your husband, your wife, you are embracing a mortal. Thus, if one of them should die, you could bear it with tranquility.”

Read the whole article on Epictetus..it is wonderful.  And then troll through the archives and, if you like what you find, sign up for your daily bread.

http://www.headbutler.com/books/non-fiction/epictetus