What I’m Reading
The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart.
The essence of Stoicism is a continued focus on what we can control. We should focus only on ourselves and our responses to the world around us.
But what if I did the opposite.
Enter The Dice Man; where a bored New York City psychologist leaves his entire life to be decided by a pair of die. He only controls the options which each side of the dice represent, not the outcomes. The results which he assigns to the die range from advantageous (act with overwhelming kindness for a month) to horrifying (leave my wife and children forever).
Herein lies the lesson which The Dice Man could benefit from Stoicism, act always with what you can control in mind. What if you assigned a virtue to each side of the die?
1 - Honesty
2 - Courage
3 - Patience
4 - Loyalty
5 - Compassion
6 - Justice
Perhaps the next time you are faced with a challenging situation you should roll the dice?
