December 14th Reading from The Daily Stoic - What We Should Know By The End

"Soon you will die, and still you aren't sincere, undisturbed, or free from suspicion that external things can harm you, nor are you gracious to all, knowing that wisdom and acting justly are one and the same."

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.37

December 13th Reading from The Dail Stoic - It's Just A Number

"You aren't bothered, are you, because you weigh a certain amount and not twice as much? So why get worked up that you've been given a certain lifespan and not more? Just as you are satisfied with your normal weight, so you should be with the time you've been given."

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.49

I can see a number of people out there thinking that Marcus is underestimating just how many people actually are dissatisfied with their weight. He doesn't really mean weight in terms of body shape and physical fitness, though, he's talking physics. Just as you probably don't give too much thought to the measure of the Earth's gravitation on objects (it is just a way that the physical laws of the universe work), so we should not give too much thought to the way the laws of physics have arranged the lifespans of human beings. The important thing is what you do with the time you have. That's the point.

December 12th Reading from The Daily Stoic - The Beat Goes On

"Walk the long gallery of the past, of empires and kingdoms succeeding each other without number. And you can also see the future, for it will surely be exactly the same, unable to deviate from the present rhythm. It's all one whether we've experienced forty years or an aeon. What more is there to see?"

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.49

December 11th Reading from The Daily Stoic - Dignity and Bravery

"As Cicero says, we hate gladiators if they are quick to save their lives by any means, we favor them if they show contempt for their lives."

~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 11.4b

December 10th Reading from The Daily Stoic - Don't Sell Yourself Too Cheaply

"I say, let no one rob me of a single day who isn't going to make a full return on the loss."

~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 1.11b

December 9th Reading from The Daily Stoic - Spendthrifts of Time

"Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach upon our lives - worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We're tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers."

~ Seneca, On The Brevity of Life, 3.1-2

December 8th Reading from The Daily Stoic - Don't Hide From Your Feelings

"It's better to conquer grief than to deceive it."

~ Seneca, On Consolation To Helvia, 17.1b