Charlie hits the playground. Kev keeps a safe distance. The spring horse does the rest. Emotionally stable. Physically a liability.
thatBB dictionary
emotionally stable
(adjective)
Steady on the inside while the outside gets flung around. Not the same as feeling nothing.
What emotionally stable actually means
Emotionally stable doesn’t mean nothing moves you. It means you come back. Life bounces everyone: a bad week, a rough email, a plan that falls apart. Stable people still get thrown. The difference is how fast they find their seat again, and whether they let one bounce decide the whole ride.
What would a stoic do?
When thou hast been compelled by circumstances to be disturbed in a manner, quickly return to thyself, and do not continue out of tune longer than the compulsion lasts.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.11 (trans. George Long)
Marcus didn’t say don’t get disturbed. He said get disturbed, then come back quickly, and the coming back gets easier with practice. That’s the spring horse. The bounce is the rhythm to our existence. Get bounced, then bounce yourself back.
Try this: three moves when life bounces you
- Expect the bounce. If you plan for a smooth ride, every bump feels like betrayal.
- Find your seat fast. One breath, one fact, one next step. The quicker the return, the smaller the bounce.
- Hold on to dear life. Tighten those proverbial cores. Stability is a grip you practice, not a mood you wait for.
Get bounced, then bounce yourself back. meow meow, kev
