The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Day 40
November 21st - Once Is Enough. Once Is Forever
"A good isn't increased by the addition of time, but if one is wise for even a moment, they will be no less happy than the person who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in it."
-Chrysippus quoted by Plutarch in Moralia: "Against the Stoics on Common Conceptions," 1062 (Loeb, p. 682)
From the Author:
"Perhaps wisdom and happiness are like winning a medal in the Olympics. It doesn't matter whether you won a hundred years ago or ten minutes ago, or whether you won just once or in multiple events. It doesn't matter whether someone beats you time or score down the road, and it doesn't matter whether you never compete again. You'll always be a medalist, and you'll always know what it feels like. No one can take that away - and it would be impossible to feel more of that feeling.
The Juilliard-trained actor Evan Handler, who not only survived acute myeloid leukemia but also severe depression, has talked about his decision to take antidepressants, which he did for a deliberately brief time. He took them because he wanted to know what true, normal happiness felt like. Once he did, he knew he would stop. He could go back to the struggle like everyone else. He had the ideal for a moment and that was enough.
Perhaps today will be the day when we experience happiness or wisdom. Don't try to grab that moment and hold on to it with all your might. It's not under your control how long it lasts. Enjoy it, recognize it, remember it. Having it for a moment is the same as having it forever."
It's never a good idea to hold on too tightly to anything, I believe. Holding on to something, someone, some fortune, or some other good thing has a feeling of lack to it. You hold on so tight because you experience it rarely. You fear losing it, and so your mindset is stuck in a state of lack, of fear of losing, of fear of not feeling the good feelings again.
You must think abundance, and of course, gratitude. But you let the good times roll, and roll on. You wave goodbye as the good things vanishes into the distance, and before you know it, it's back at your heels.
“If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.”
- Kahlil Gibran
But it's also important to experience and come to peace with the bad times. Let them too roll. Wish them on their merry way, with gratitude for lessons learned.
Think in terms of tides. Of pendulums. Learn to sway with, do not be out of frequency, and find more greatness in the great, and more stability of self in the not so great.
Shevacai
npub19u…wgppv
2023-11-21 13:06:42
Author Public Key
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2023-11-21 13:06:42Event JSON
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"content": "The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living\n\nDay 40\n\nNovember 21st - Once Is Enough. Once Is Forever\n\n\"A good isn't increased by the addition of time, but if one is wise for even a moment, they will be no less happy than the person who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in it.\"\n\n-Chrysippus quoted by Plutarch in Moralia: \"Against the Stoics on Common Conceptions,\" 1062 (Loeb, p. 682)\n\nFrom the Author:\n\n\"Perhaps wisdom and happiness are like winning a medal in the Olympics. It doesn't matter whether you won a hundred years ago or ten minutes ago, or whether you won just once or in multiple events. It doesn't matter whether someone beats you time or score down the road, and it doesn't matter whether you never compete again. You'll always be a medalist, and you'll always know what it feels like. No one can take that away - and it would be impossible to feel more of that feeling.\n\nThe Juilliard-trained actor Evan Handler, who not only survived acute myeloid leukemia but also severe depression, has talked about his decision to take antidepressants, which he did for a deliberately brief time. He took them because he wanted to know what true, normal happiness felt like. Once he did, he knew he would stop. He could go back to the struggle like everyone else. He had the ideal for a moment and that was enough.\n\nPerhaps today will be the day when we experience happiness or wisdom. Don't try to grab that moment and hold on to it with all your might. It's not under your control how long it lasts. Enjoy it, recognize it, remember it. Having it for a moment is the same as having it forever.\"\n\nIt's never a good idea to hold on too tightly to anything, I believe. Holding on to something, someone, some fortune, or some other good thing has a feeling of lack to it. You hold on so tight because you experience it rarely. You fear losing it, and so your mindset is stuck in a state of lack, of fear of losing, of fear of not feeling the good feelings again. \nYou must think abundance, and of course, gratitude. But you let the good times roll, and roll on. You wave goodbye as the good things vanishes into the distance, and before you know it, it's back at your heels.\n\n“If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.”\n\n- Kahlil Gibran\n\nBut it's also important to experience and come to peace with the bad times. Let them too roll. Wish them on their merry way, with gratitude for lessons learned. \nThink in terms of tides. Of pendulums. Learn to sway with, do not be out of frequency, and find more greatness in the great, and more stability of self in the not so great.\n\n\n",
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