1:55

of

2:00

ancient wisdom designed to help you in

2:02

your everyday life. On Tuesdays,

2:05

we take a closer look at these stoic ideas,

2:07

how we can apply them in our actual lives.

2:10

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy.

2:18

Your mind is a fighter. Marcus

2:21

Aurelius hated the gladiatorial games.

2:24

He despised the violence and the pointlessness

2:26

of it, but it was also his job to

2:28

attend them. So he did his best to distract

2:30

himself with a book, often to the

2:32

bemusement of the crowd. When he was emperor,

2:35

he tried to give the gladiators wooden swords

2:37

so they wouldn't hurt each other. Seneca

2:39

found the violence disturbing too, and he was wary

2:42

of anything the mob loved. Yet

2:44

both Seneca and Marcus Aurelius understood the

2:46

power of the metaphor, which is why allusions

2:49

to the games are threaded through their

2:51

works. They knew that life was a battle.

2:53

They felt that the philosopher belonged in the arena.

2:56

They knew that surviving, winning, depended

2:58

on training, and courage, and tenacity. They

3:01

didn't live long enough to read Boswell. They

3:03

would have appreciated his description of the mental

3:06

facilities of his muse and hero, Samuel

3:08

Johnson, what Marcus Aurelius

3:10

himself called the command center, through

3:12

the imagery of what Marcus and Seneca saw

3:15

firsthand. His mind resembled

3:17

a vast amphitheater, the colosseum

3:19

of Rome, Boswell said, and

3:22

the center stood his judgment, which like a mighty

3:24

gladiator, combated those apprehensions

3:27

that he, that like the wild beasts

3:30

of the arena, were all around in cells,

3:33

ready to be let out upon him. After

3:35

a conflict, he drove them back into their

3:37

dens, but not killing them, they

3:40

were still assailing him. We

3:42

don't have to revel in combat sports to

3:44

understand that we are in our own desperate

3:47

fight. We are fighting against false

3:49

impressions. We are fighting against destructive

3:51

emotions like greed and fear and envy and prejudice.

3:54

We are fighting against our lower self in order

3:56

to reach that higher plane, the

3:58

one worthy of being cheered and celebrated

4:01

and it's a fight that happens day in and day

4:03

out and never really ends. We'll

4:06

never win but we can be great in our brief

4:08

moment in the arena. We can be mighty

4:11

as we fight back the beasts that are

4:13

let out upon us.

4:16

Marcus Aurelius. Concentrate

4:22

every minute on doing what's

4:24

in front of you. You

4:28

don't have to turn this into something. It

4:31

doesn't have to upset you. The

4:36

presence is all we have to live

4:38

in or to lose. Stop

4:44

whatever you're doing for a moment

4:47

and ask yourself, am I

4:49

afraid of death because I won't

4:51

be able to do this anymore? Let

4:57

each thing you would do, say

5:00

or intend, be like that

5:02

of a dying person. The

5:06

things you think about determine

5:09

the quality of your mind. Your

5:12

soul takes on the color of your

5:14

thoughts. Today

5:18

I escape the anxiety. Or

5:22

no, I discarded it because

5:25

it was within me, in

5:27

my own perceptions, not

5:29

outside. You

5:34

have to assemble your life yourself.

5:37

Action by action. The

5:42

impediment to action advances

5:45

action. What stands in

5:47

the way becomes the way. The

5:53

best revenge is not to be like

5:55

your enemy. You

5:59

can also Also commit injustice

6:02

by doing nothing. Receive

6:06

without pride. Let

6:09

go without attachment. If

6:14

it's endurable, then endure

6:16

it. Stop complaining.

6:22

Have I done something for the common

6:25

good? Can I share

6:27

in the benefits? It

6:31

never ceases to amaze me. We

6:34

all love ourselves more than other people,

6:37

but care more about their opinion

6:39

than our own. It's

6:44

unfortunate that this has happened.

6:47

No. It's fortunate

6:49

that this has happened, and I've

6:52

remained unharmed. If

6:57

it is not right, do

6:59

not do it. If it is

7:01

not true, do not

7:04

say it. You

7:08

always own the option of having

7:10

no opinion. Ask

7:15

yourself at every moment, is

7:18

this necessary? If

7:23

something is humanly possible, it's

7:26

attainable by you too. Think

7:31

of yourself as dead. You

7:33

have lived your life. Now

7:36

take what's left and live it properly.

7:42

Everyone despises me. That's

7:45

their problem. Everything

7:50

is born from change. You

7:55

have power over your mind, not

7:58

outside events. When

8:03

jarred, unavoidably, by

8:05

circumstance, revert

8:08

at once to yourself and

8:10

don't lose the rhythm more than you

8:12

can help. You

8:16

could leave life right now. Let

8:19

that determine what you do, say,

8:23

and think. Our

8:27

life is what our thoughts make

8:29

it. If

8:33

you don't have a consistent goal

8:35

in life, you can't

8:37

live it in a consistent way. Get

8:43

back up when you fail. Celebrate

8:46

behaving like a human. Limit

8:51

yourself to the present. The

8:57

tranquility that comes when you stop

8:59

caring what they say, or

9:01

think, or do. Only

9:04

what you do. Don't

9:09

you see how much you have to offer,

9:12

and yet you still settle

9:14

for less. Mastery

9:19

of reading and writing requires

9:21

a master. The

9:26

struggle is great, the

9:28

task divine, to

9:30

gain mastery, freedom,

9:33

happiness, and tranquility. Do

9:38

not let others hold you back. A

9:44

blazing fire makes flame and

9:46

brightness out of everything that

9:48

is thrown into it. To

9:53

love only what happens, no

9:56

greater harmony. If

10:01

it's humanly possible, you

10:03

can do it too. Choose

10:08

not to be harmed and

10:10

you won't feel harmed. Don't

10:13

feel harmed and you haven't

10:15

been. Don't

10:19

procrastinate. Don't confuse.

10:23

Don't wander. Don't be passive

10:26

or aggressive. Don't be

10:28

all about business. Love

10:33

the hand that fate deals you and

10:36

play it as your own. Practice

10:42

even what seems impossible. There

10:47

is never any need to get worked up

10:50

about things you can't control. People

10:56

exist for one another. The

11:01

nearer a man comes to a calm

11:03

mind, the closer he

11:06

is

11:06

to strength. Seneca,

11:14

we suffer more in imagination

11:17

than in reality. Only

11:22

strengthen the mind as labor

11:24

does the body. Being

11:29

poor is not having too little. It

11:32

is wanting more. If

11:36

a man knows not to which point

11:38

he

11:38

stands,

11:40

no wind is favorable. It's

11:45

better to conquer grief than to

11:47

deceive it. Life

11:52

is very short and anxious for

11:54

those who forget the past, neglect

11:57

the present, and fear the future.

12:03

No man is more unhappy than

12:05

he who never faces adversity,

12:08

for he is not permitted to

12:10

prove himself. Everything

12:15

hangs on one's thinking. A

12:18

man is as unhappy as

12:20

he has convinced himself he is.

12:25

It's not that we have a short time

12:27

to live, but that we waste

12:30

a lot of it. All

12:34

cruelty springs from weakness.

12:36

A

12:40

gem cannot be polished without

12:42

friction, nor a man perfected

12:45

without trials. He

12:49

who is everywhere is nowhere.

12:56

As long as you live, keep

12:58

learning how to live. It

13:03

is not the man who has too little,

13:06

but the man who craves more that

13:08

is poor. Sometimes

13:13

even to live is an act of

13:15

courage. You

13:19

can tell the character of every man

13:22

when you see how he gives and receives

13:24

praise. It

13:28

is not that we have a short space of

13:30

time, but that we waste much

13:33

of it. The

13:37

greatest remedy for anger is delay.

13:44

How much progress shall I make, you

13:46

ask, just as much as

13:49

you try to make? Wisdom

13:54

comes haphazard to no man. This

14:00

is our big mistake. To

14:02

think we look forward to death, most

14:05

of death is already gone. Whatever

14:09

time has passed is owned by

14:11

death. If

14:15

what you have seems insufficient

14:17

to you, then though you possess

14:19

the world, you will yet be

14:22

miserable. Most

14:26

powerful is he who has himself

14:29

in his own power.

14:33

It does not matter what you

14:36

bear, but how you

14:38

bear it.

14:41

Nothing delights the mind as

14:44

much as loving and loyal friendship.

14:50

Whatever can happen at any time can

14:52

happen today. Excellence

14:57

withers without an adversary. Joy

15:03

comes to us from those whom we

15:05

love, even when they are absent.

15:11

What progress have I made? I

15:14

have begun to be a friend to myself. If

15:20

my wealth goes away, it

15:23

takes with it nothing but itself. I

15:25

am contagious.

15:27

If

15:30

you wish to improve, be

15:33

content to appear clueless

15:35

or stupid.

15:38

Don't just say that you have

15:41

read books. Show

15:43

that through them you have learned to

15:45

think better.

15:49

I cannot escape death, but

15:52

at least I can escape the fear

15:55

of it. philosophy,

16:01

embody it. You

16:05

become what you give your attention

16:08

to. It's

16:12

impossible for a man to learn what

16:14

he thinks he already knows. If

16:19

you are ever tempted to look for outside

16:21

approval, realize that

16:24

you have compromised your integrity.

16:27

If you need a witness, be

16:29

your own.

16:33

How long are you going to wait

16:36

before you demand the best for

16:38

yourself? If

16:42

your choices are beautiful, so

16:45

too will you be. If

16:49

someone succeeds in provoking

16:52

you, realize that your mind

16:54

is complicit in the provocation. It's

17:00

not things that upset us but

17:03

our judgments about things. Circumstances

17:09

don't make the man. They

17:11

only reveal him to himself. Welcome

17:17

events in whichever way they happen.

17:20

This is the path to peace.

17:25

The key is to keep company only

17:28

with people who uplift you, whose

17:31

presence calls forth your best.

17:36

The essence of philosophy is

17:39

that a man should so live that

17:41

his happiness shall depend as

17:43

little as possible on external

17:45

things. No

17:49

man is free who is not master

17:52

of himself. The

17:56

more we value things outside

17:59

our control, The less control

18:01

we have.

18:05

You are hurt the moment you believe

18:08

yourself to be.

18:12

Wealth consists not in having great

18:14

possessions, but in having few

18:17

wants. Seek

18:20

not the good in external things.

18:23

Seek it in yourselves. Observe

18:28

your desire. Don't set

18:30

your heart on so many things and

18:33

you will get what you need. Devote

18:39

the rest of your life to making

18:41

progress.

18:50

Better to trip with the feet than

18:53

with the tongue.

18:57

If you lay violent hands on me,

19:00

you'll have my body, but

19:02

my mind will remain with still hope.

19:07

Happiness is a good flow

19:09

of life.

19:13

A bad feeling is a commotion

19:15

of the mind repugnant to reason

19:18

and against nature.

19:22

Well being is realized by small

19:25

steps, but is truly no

19:28

small thing. Man

19:32

conquers the world by conquering

19:34

himself. We

19:38

have two ears and one mouth, so

19:41

we should listen more than we

19:43

say.

19:47

He is best of all men who follows

19:49

good advice. Good too

19:51

is he who finds out all things for

19:53

himself. No

19:57

loss should be more regrettable to the world.

20:00

To us than losing our time,

20:02

for it's irretrievable.

20:05

Follow where reason

20:08

leads.

20:11

Steal your sensibilities so

20:14

that life shall hurt you as little as

20:16

possible.

20:19

No evil is honorable, but

20:22

death is honorable. Therefore,

20:25

death

20:25

is not evil.

20:29

All the good are friends of

20:32

one another.

20:35

No one entrusts

20:36

a secret to a drunken man,

20:39

but one will entrust a secret to

20:41

a good man. Therefore,

20:43

the good man will not be drunk.

20:49

All things are parts of one single

20:51

system, which is called nature. The

20:54

individual life is good when

20:56

it is in harmony with nature.

21:01

Seeing that the universe gives

21:03

birth to beings that are animate and

21:05

wise, should it not be considered

21:08

animate and wise itself? The

21:13

end may be defined

21:14

as life in accordance with nature,

21:17

or, in other words, in accordance

21:19

with our own human nature,

21:21

as well as that of the universe.

21:26

When a dog is tied to a cart,

21:29

if it wants to follow, it is

21:31

pulled and followed, making

21:33

it spontaneous act coincide

21:36

with necessity. But if the

21:38

dog does not follow, it

21:40

will be compelled in any case. So

21:43

it is with man too. Even

21:45

if they don't want to, they will

21:47

be compelled to follow what is destined.

21:50

Faith

21:54

is the endless chain of connection, whereby

21:57

things are the reason

21:58

or principle by which the world

22:01

goes on.

22:04

Man seems to be deficient in nothing

22:07

so much as he is in time.

22:11

Hey prime members, you can listen to the daily stoic

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22:24

In the enchanted forest from

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the whimsical world of Disney Frozen,

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something

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is wrong.

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Arendelle is in danger once again from

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dark forces threatening to disrupt the

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it's up to Anna and Elsa to stop

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the villains before it's too late. For

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the last 10 years, Frozen has mesmerized

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millions around the world. Now Wondery

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of Nature podcast, which extends

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the storytelling of the beloved animated series

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