Dear Grandchildren,
I’m reading
Weiner mentions Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of Eternal Recurrence in which
This life, as you live it now and have lived it, you will have to live it again and again, times without number; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sign and all the unspeakably small and great in your life must return to you, and everything in the same series and sequence — and in the same way ….
Weiner compares Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence with the movie
In Groundhog Day, the protagonist, Phil Connors, relives February 2 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, reporting on the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil, the weather forecasting groundhog. (If the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, spring is just around corner. If the groundhog sees its shadow there will be six more weeks of winter.)
A significant difference between the two is that Groundhog Day permits daily variation while Nietzsche does not.
Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence depresses me. The thought of reliving my life over and over without change or variation terrifies me. I don’t wish to revisit my fears, mistakes, and frustrations.
Stoicism has improved my life. I am aware of what is within my control and what isn’t. I direct my energy to those things within my control. My life has improved signficantly.
Oh, if I had only discovered Stoicism earlier.
Love,
Grandfather
jcfunk 
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