Week 19 of 2024 has arrived. A pair of birds have been making a nest on a wreath on a door of our house. My wife, son and daughter have been watching it every day, pulling up a chair to check on the 5 little eggs, and then reporting back when there were 4 little chicks.

Each day moving the chairs far away from the door because of last year's tragedy involving a cat and a closely placed chair.The chicks were a few days away from flying on their own.

This morning, with the chairs far away, the wreath and nest were empty and broken on the ground.

Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square.  Done?

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Thanks for being here and reading. These emails help me "Sharpen The Saw" and hopefully help you to sharpen yours!

The 4K Weeks Brightsider... For the colorful among us.

The 4K Weeks Fade to Black - Memento Mori, Anyone?

The Original 4K Weeks... A Striking Visual of Your Life

Remarkable Weeks

Week  19 of 1953, Louis E. Marron, caught a 1182-pound (536.15 kg) swordfish in Chile. It was measured to be more than 14 feet long and 78 inches wide. He was about 2,800 weeks old (53.71 yrs). 

Week  19 of 1960, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which focused primarily on addressing discriminatory legislation and safeguarding voting rights. He was 3,629.43 weeks old (69.60 yrs).

Week  19 of 1961, Alan Shepard was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. He was the first American to ever travel into space and one of the first few persons to walk on the moon. He was 1,955.14 weeks old (37.49 yrs).

This Week's Quote

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people. -Carl Jung 

It is hard to reconcile with the fact that you are capable of and have probably done, some terrible things. But you are. We all are.

Not terrible to the core, and unredeemable, but certainly you have thought terrible things, and likely you have done things that you now think are terrible... And if you are honest with yourself, you know you are capable of more terrible and despicable things.

There is nothing wrong with admitting to yourself and the people you love that you aren't as squeaky clean of body and mind as you would like everyone to believe. We all have a dark side; shining a light on it keeps it from growing.

If you weren't capable of terrible things, it wouldn't be a mark of virtue that you don't do them.

If you always remember that you have been a real jerk sometimes, it makes it easier to forgive and tolerate someone else who is being a real jerk right now.

But... don't fall into the trap of feeling smug when you aren't being a jerk, and someone else is... that is just level 2 elitist jerkism.

What I am Consuming This Week

People I Mostly Admire. "#130 Is Our Concept of Freedom All Wrong, Joseph Stiglitz " I agree with a lot of what Steiglitz says here... Capitalism is great... but it needs some checks against its "winners take all" tendencies.

The Art of Living, A translation of Epictetus's Enchiridion. Sharon Lebell This is probably my favorite book of all time, and I have been reading it again lately.  I think if you could only have one self improvement book, this should be it.

Insta Nuggets:

• My Tae Kwon Do instructor used to say "you must overcome yourself"
• A playbook
• Even 10% of his belief in himself would be an asset...

What I am Thinking About This Week

Ownership

Our house is a bit over 100 years old.  It has had at least four other families call it home. When my wife and I are dead and the kids sell it, it will be someone else's home.

My 1968 Jeepster Commando is 56 years old. It has had four owners.  When I was buying it the seller sent me the title and I sent him funds and then we had to wait a few weeks for transport, prompting him to say "I guess it is mine/ours/yours for a bit longer".  

My good friend Benjamin will happily tell you that you don't actually own your house... you just rent the land from the county. And if you don't pay your property tax, they will happily repossess it and sell it to the highest bidder.

As much as I want to, I don't think we ever actually own anything.  We are just caretakers of things that will either outlive us, or not.

I know that thinking of "our" house and "my" Jeepster as artifacts that I need to properly care for really helps me keep my ego in check... these aren't my things, they are just things I have been lucky enough to enjoy for a bit, and it is my responsibility to make sure they are in better condition when they leave my care.

Maintenance isn't fun, usually, and often seems like a waste of time.  But if you stop thinking of these things as your possessions, and start thinking of yourself of a caretaker, the relationship becomes richer and more meaningful. And it also helps sort the wheat from the chaff with regard to your stuff. If you aren't willing to have a relationship with it, it probably owns you.

As Epictetus said in The Art of Living by Sharon Lebell (a translation of the Enchiridion):

"Nothing can be truly taken from us. There is nothing to lose. Inner peace begins when we stop saying of things, "I have lost it" and instead say "It has been returned to where it came from." Have your children died? They are returned to where they came from. Has your mate died? Your mate is returned to where he or she came from. Have your possessions and property been taken from you? They too have been returned to where they came from. Perhaps you are vexed because a bad person took your belongings. But why should it be any of concern of yours who gives your things back to the world that gave them to you? The important thing is to take great care with what you have while the world lets you have it, just as a traveler takes care of a room at an inn."

Have a great week!

Thanks for being a part of the journey with us! Please tell me if you liked/disliked the blog this week. Ask my wife... those are the only emails I like to get!

Spencer, Owner of 4KWeeks.com

Dad Joke O' The Week

I went on Amazon to buy a lighter

but all they had were 3,472 matches.