Where to look when… you are not in control
Daily Touch of Inspirations
November 16th: Hope and fear are the same
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Hecato says, "cease to hope and you will cease to fear..." The primary cause of both these ills is that instead of adapting ourselves to present circumstances we send out thoughts too far ahead. — Seneca, Moral Letters, 5.7b-8
Daily Touch of Inspirations
May 6th: Righteousness is beautiful
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Then what makes a beautiful human being? Isn't it the presence of human excellence? Young friend, if you wish to be beautiful, then work diligently at human excellence. And what is that? Observe those whom you praise without prejudice. The just or the unjust? The just. The even- tempered or the undisciplined? The even- tempered. The self-controlled or the uncontrolled? The self- controlled. In making yourself that kind of person, you will become beautiful- but to the extent you ignore these qualities, you'll be ugly, even if you use every trick in the book to appear beautiful. ~Epictetus, Discourses, 3.1.6b-9
Daily Touch of Inspirations
November 17th: Judge not, lest...
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
When philosophy is wielded with arrogance and stubbornly, it is the cause for the ruin of many. Let philosophy scrape off our own faults, rather than be a way to rail against the faults of others. — Seneca, Moral Letters, 103.4b-5a
Daily Touch of Inspirations
July 19th: Forgive them because they don't know
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
As Plato said, every soul is deprived of truth against its will. The same holds true for justice, self- control, goodwill to others, and every similar virtue. It's essential to constantly keep this in your mind, for it will make you more gentle to all.— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.63
Daily Touch of Inspirations
July 22nd: No one has a gun to your head
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Nothing is noble if it's done unwillingly or under compulsion. Every noble deed is voluntary.— Seneca, Moral Letters, 66.16b
Daily Touch of Inspirations
July 4th: Protect the flame
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Protect your own good in all that you do, and as concerns everything else take what is given as far as you can make reasoned use of it. If you don't, you'll be unlucky, prone to failure , hindered and stymied.—Epictetus, Discourses, 4.3.11
Daily Touch of Inspirations
November 7th: How to be powerful
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Don't trust in your reputation, money, or position, but in the strength that is yours — namely, your judgments about the things that you control. For this alone is what makes us free and unfettered, that picks us up by the neck from the depths and lifts us eye to eye with the rich and powerful. — Epictetus, Discourses, 3.26.34-35