March 21st: The best retreat is in here, not out there
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
People seek retreats for themselves in the country, by the sea, or in the mountains. You are very much in a habit of yearning for those same things. But this is entirely the trait of a base person, when you can, at any moment, find such a retreat in yourself. For nowhere can you find a more peaceful and less busy retreat than in your own soul- especially if on close inspection it is filled with ease, which I say is nothing more than being well- ordered. Treat yourself often to this retreat and be renewed —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations,4.3.1
As you gain more and more access to your nature, you will also spontaneously receive creative thoughts because the field of pure potentiality is also the field of infinite creativity and pure knowledge. Franz Kafka, the Austrian philosopher and poet, once said,
"You need not leave your room. Remain sitting on your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait. You need not even wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll ecstasy at your feet."
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom Perseverance and Art of Living
You know what wine and liqueur tastes like, it makes no difference whether a hundred or thousand bottles pass through your bladder- you are nothing more than a filter. — Seneca, Moral Letters, 77:16
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
We should take wandering outdoor walks, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing. —Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 17.8
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Trust me, real joy is a serious thing. Do you think someone can, in the charming expression, blithely dismiss death with an easy disposition? Or swing open the door to poverty, keep pleasures in check, or meditate on the endurance of suffering? The one who is comfortable with turning these thoughts over is truly full of joy that I would wish for you to possess. — Seneca, Moral Letters, 111.2
Ganesha went outdoors one day to play and found a stray cat. Too small to know better, he began to pull her ears and tail. He roughed up that poor cat and even began to beat her with a stick, making marks on her head till, yowling, she ran for her life. Some hours later Ganesha went into the house. His mother, to his astonishment and dismay, was looking terrible. Her hair was a mess, she had scratches on her face and she limped from the bruises on her body.
Where can you find joy? What's the true measure of success? How should we manage anger? Find meaning? Conquer grief? The answers to these questions and more lie at the heart of Stoic philosophy. The Daily Stoic is a compelling, accessible guide to living a good life, offering daily doses of this classic wisdom.
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