John Masters, Author at Deep Something

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Stoic Virtues: The Courage to Decide

December 22, 2025December 22, 2025 B. John 97 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, Moral Clarity, endurance, grief, wisdom, Courage, Life Lessons, Faith

This entry is part 54 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series The Stoic Virtues

Most of us think courage looks like pushing forward, fighting, and refusing to give in. But sometimes courage takes a quieter form. Sometimes it shows up not as effort, but as clarity, not as resistance, but as resolve.

During my mother’s final hospital stay, she listened patiently as doctors talked about rehab and recovery. After they left, she said calmly, “I’m just done.” She wasn’t asking for permission or advice. She was stating a decision shaped by a lifetime of endurance. A woman raised in scarcity. A woman who carried family responsibility without complaint. A woman who knew the difference between fear, despair, and judgment.

In this essay, I reflect on what her final decision taught me about courage. Drawing on Stoic philosophy, scripture, and lived experience, I explore courage not as bravado, but as alignment. Not as clinging, but as choosing without illusion. If you’ve ever wondered what courage really looks like when life stops negotiating, I invite you to read more.

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A Speech Built on Sand. Fact-Checking the President’s Address

December 18, 2025 B. John 119 Views 0 Comments political misinformation, economic claims, inflation data, border policy, partisan rhetoric, public accountability, democratic norms, presidential address, fact check

Last night’s prime-time presidential address was sold as a report to the nation. What it delivered was more like a campaign rally with a White House backdrop.

We were told inflation has been “stopped,” prices are “coming down fast,” the border is “fully secure,” wars have been ended, and the economy is suddenly the hottest in the world. The problem is that many of these claims aren’t true, and others are so exaggerated that they lose all contact with reality. Public data on inflation, jobs, migration, and global conflicts tell a far more complicated story than the one presented on screen.

The speech also leaned heavily into partisan attacks, repeatedly blaming Democrats and President Biden while offering little effort to speak to the country as a whole. Even new announcements, such as a promised cash payment to service members, were floated without any explanation of their legality or funding. Symbolism replaced substance. Confidence stood in for evidence.

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Is the Tail (Tale?) About to Wag the Dog?

December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 B. John 62 Views 0 Comments domestic political distraction, military escalation, Trump Administration, Latin America., Venezuela, U.S. foreign policy, Caribbean military buildup, Wag the dog, oil embargo, authoritarian politics, international relations, U.S. allies

Over the past week, the administration has steadily ratcheted up the drumbeat against Venezuela. Two more alleged “drug boats” were destroyed in the Caribbean, again without publicly released evidence. A sudden announcement of an embargo on ships carrying Venezuelan oil. The quiet but unmistakable presence of the largest U.S. aircraft carrier and its support fleet repositioned into the Caribbean. And now, after days of escalating rhetoric, a prime-time address to the nation.
Taken individually, each move could be explained away. Together, they form a pattern that deserves attention. This is not routine counternarcotics enforcement. This is coercive signaling, and it is happening at a moment when the president faces mounting pressure at home.
When facts are thin, and spectacle is thick, motives matter. History teaches us to be cautious when presidents under domestic strain suddenly discover urgent foreign enemies. The timing alone should give us pause.

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United Healthcare and the Theater of the Absurd

December 5, 2025December 5, 2025 B. John 224 Views 0 Comments Medicare error, medical billing problems, BayCare Imaging, dialysis mistake, health insurance bureaucracy, patient advocacy, insurance claim dispute, United Healthcare, coordination of benefits

nited Healthcare just sent me a letter asking about my “dialysis treatments” for a claim from July 2025. Small problem. I wasn’t on Medicare in July. I’ve never had dialysis. And the provider was BayCare Imaging. which does… imaging.

After 2 hours and 57 minutes on the phone with five reps who couldn’t grasp any of this. I’m sending them a bill for my time. Welcome to the American healthcare system. Pull up a chair.

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Introduction to Stoic Virtues

December 4, 2025December 3, 2025 B. John 101 Views 0 Comments Stoic Virtues, Mercy, Restraint, self-control, Integrity, humility

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 53 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Most of us try to live with some mix of courage, honesty, and patience, but we rarely stop to ask where those instincts come from or what they are pulling us toward. I spent months working through the Stoic practices without realizing they were preparing me for something larger. Only later did I see that these routines were pointing me toward the four Stoic virtues. Wisdom. Courage. Justice. Temperance. Not as lofty ideals, but as quiet directions for daily life.

This new essay opens the door to that deeper work. It reflects on how the practices steady us and how the virtues give that effort its shape and purpose. If you want to see where this journey leads next, the full piece is up now.

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How to Begin the Stoic Practices

December 3, 2025 B. John 180 Views 0 Comments voluntary discomfort, daily habits, evening contemplation, Memento Mori, Journaling, Stoic practices, sympatheia, morning reflection

This entry is part 1 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

This entry is part 52 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Most people imagine Stoic practice as a long list of habits they should somehow manage to fit into an already crowded day. The truth is simpler. Most practices don’t begin with a grand plan. They begin the way mine did. A quiet morning walk becomes a morning reflection. A hard season pulls you into sympatheia. Three lines in a notebook settle into evening contemplation. The practices grow inside an ordinary life. They do not sit on top of it.

This closing essay is an invitation to begin without pressure. You don’t need every practice. You don’t need hours of silence. You only need one small place to start. A moment of attention in a day that is already unfolding. If you want to build a steadier inner life without turning Stoicism into homework, this is the place to step in.

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Virtues: Acceptance

November 25, 2025December 3, 2025 B. John 180 Views 0 Comments wisdom, equanimity, Stoicism, Resilience, Acceptance, life transitions, grief, virtue

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 51 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Acceptance is not resignation. It is the moment when the mind stops fighting reality and starts working with it. I learned that watching a man who rides a three-wheeled electric bike around Tampa with a smile that seems to rise from the inside out.

The Stoics taught that acceptance begins when we stop struggling against what we cannot change. I have been learning this the slow way, through grief, uncertainty, and the small moments that reveal what the heart is holding.

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Stoic Practice: Rehearsing Death and Accepting Fate

November 14, 2025 B. John 329 Views 6 Comments Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Acceptance, Seneca, personal growth, mortality, grief

This entry is part 50 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 3 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

I grew up with death in the next room. My father managed a funeral home, and for a time our family lived in a small apartment above it. Most kids grew up with kitchen noise and television. I grew up with the quiet hum of grief drifting through the walls. I did not think much about it at the time, but it shaped how I see life. It also shaped how I understand endings. Later, I buried friends during the AIDS crisis. I cared for one of them in my home until he died. Those years taught me that death does not wait for a convenient moment. It just arrives.

The Stoics understood this impulse to drift into denial. They practiced rehearsing death so they could return to what mattered. The practice does not pull you toward fear. It pulls you toward clarity. In my own life, the deaths of family and friends have reminded me of this same truth. We do not control the length of our days. We control how we use the ones we have. If you want to read more about how the practice shaped my own path through grief, transition, and aging, you can find the full essay here.

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Thinking Our Way to Character

November 11, 2025 B. John 243 Views 0 Comments Resilience, mindfulness, philosophy, James Allen, moral character, neuroscience

This entry is part 49 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Our thoughts are not just passing moods or fleeting opinions. They are the architects of our character. They are the hidden builders of who we become. James Allen said it more than a century ago: “A man is literally what he thinks.” The Stoics would have nodded in agreement. The Apostle Paul might have, too. Each taught that transformation begins not with circumstance, but with the mind’s quiet work of shaping how we see, judge, and act.
In Thinking Our Way to Character, I explore how Allen’s moral vision aligns with Stoic and Christian wisdom, and how both still hold up under the weight of modern life. Through philosophy, faith, and a bit of neuroscience, the essay looks at how disciplined thought turns daily struggle into purpose. If you’ve ever wondered whether we can truly think our way toward peace, purpose, and resilience, this one’s worth the read.

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Stoic Practices: Negative Visualization

November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 B. John 286 Views 0 Comments Gratitude, Resilience, Premeditatio Malorum, grief, mindfulness, negative visualization, Preparation

This entry is part 48 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 2 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

What if imagining loss could make life feel fuller, not darker? The Stoics called it premeditatio malorum—the quiet practice of picturing what could go wrong, not to suffer in advance, but to steady the heart for when it does.

In this new essay, I write about sitting beside my mother near the end of her life, and later facing my own health scare. Both moments taught me that rehearsing misfortune isn’t about fear. It’s about gratitude. The kind that comes from realizing how much you already have.

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Stoic Practices: Voluntary Discomfort

October 28, 2025November 30, 2025 B. John 282 Views 0 Comments Musonius Rufus, Oliver Burkeman, discipline, hormetic stress, Stoicism, Andrew Huberman, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Resilience, Seneca, voluntary discomfort

This entry is part 47 of 54 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 4 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

When I first began walking, one mile was a struggle. Every step was an argument between my will and my comfort. Over time, those miles became my teacher. What the Stoics called voluntary discomfort is not self-denial but a rehearsal for life’s inevitable hardships. When we choose minor difficulties—a plain meal, a long walk, a day without convenience—we remind ourselves that peace does not depend on comfort. Each act of endurance builds calm, gratitude, and freedom.

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