It’s January 15. I’m going to start this post with a quote from one of my favorite stoics, Epictetus who said, “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” In other words, he is suggesting a personal philosophy of “If I can’t fix it, I don’t care.” You might want to consider it instead of being upset by the daily chaos. Here’s the list of celebratory events this day: National Bagel Day, Humanitarian Day, National Strawberry Ice Cream Day, Wikipedia Day, World Religion Day, World Snow Day, National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day and National Hat Day. Have you ever had a New York Deli bagel with lox, cream cheese, red onions, and capers? If you haven’t, put it on your bucket list. Now onto the history of this date. The first footnote of interest is on this date in 1535 Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church in England. Henry who had 6 wives, had run England into the ground, had become very unpopular decided that he should become the head of the Church of England, and since he was the King, he did it. In 1870 the donkey was first used as the symbol of the Democratic Party. On this day in 1919 the Great Molasses Flood happened in Boston when a storage tank burst which held 2 million gallons of molasses. 21 people drowned and 150 were injured. In 1943 the world’s largest office building, the Pentagon was completed to house the US military. Finally, in 1961 Berry Gordy signs The Supremes with Motown Records. Since I started this post with a quote from Epictetus, I’ll use him to finish this one up. He said, “Life is a piece of music, and you’re supposed to be dancing.” “It is always out choice whether or not we wish to pay the price for life’s rewards. And often it is bet for us not to pay the price, for the price might be our integrity.” “Don’t explain your philosophy, embody it.” “If they are wise, do not quarrel with them; if they are fools, ignore them.” Epictetus died in the year 135. He’s evidence that while mankind may have more information, we aren’t any smarter than our ancestors were. Abide.
