April 7th Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - Expect To Change Your Opinions

"There are two things that must be rooted out in human beings - arrogant opinion and mistrust. Arrogant opinion expects that there is nothing further needed, and mistrust assumes that under the torrent of circumstances there can be no happiness."

~ Epictetus, Discourses, 3.14.8

April 6th Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - Prepare Yourself For Negativity

"When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don't know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me . . . and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness - nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation."

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.1

April 5th Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - Trust, But Verify

"First off, don't let the force of the impression carry you away. Say to it, 'hold up a bit and let me see who you are and where you are from - let me put you to the test.' . . ."

~ Epictetus, Discourses, 2.18.24

April 4th Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - Don't Let This Go To Your Head

"Make sure you're not made 'Emperor,' avoid that imperial stain. It can happen to you, so keep yourself simple, good, pure, saintly, plain, a friend of justice, god-fearing, gracious, affectionate, and strong for your proper work. Fight to remain the person that philosophy  wished to make you. Revere the gods, and look after each other. Life is short - the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good."

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.30

April 3rd Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - Deceived and Divided

"Circumstances are what deceive us - you must be discerning in them. We embrace evil before good. We desire the opposite of what we once desired. Our prayers are at war with our prayers, our plans with our plans."

~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 45.6

April 2nd Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - Be Wary of What You Let In

"Drama, combat, terror, numbness, and subservience - every day these things wipe out your sacred principles, whenever your mind entertains them uncritically or lets them slip in."

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.9

April 1st Reading from The Daily Stoic (Round 2) - The Color of Your Thoughts

"Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions."

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.16