February

25th
THE SMOKE AND DUST OF MYTH

“Keep a list before your mind of those who burned with anger and resentment about something, of
even the most renowned for success, misfortune, evil deeds, or any special distinction. Then ask
yourself, how did that work out? Smoke and dust, the stuff of simple myth trying to be
legend . . .”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 12.27

I n Marcus Aurelius’s writings, he constantly points out how the emperors who came before him were
barely remembered just a few years later. To him, this was a reminder that no matter how much he
conquered, no matter how much he inflicted his will on the world, it would be like building a castle in the
sand—soon to be erased by the winds of time.
The same goes for those driven to the heights of hate or anger or obsession or perfectionism. Marcus
liked to point out that Alexander the Great—one of the most passionate and ambitious men who ever lived
—was buried in the same ground as his mule driver. Eventually, all of us will pass away and slowly be
forgotten. We should enjoy this brief time we have on earth—not be enslaved to emotions that make us
miserable and dissatisfied.
 February 26th
TO EACH HIS OWN

“Another has done me wrong? Let him see to it. He has his own tendencies, and his own affairs.
What I have now is what the common nature has willed, and what I endeavor to accomplish now
is what my nature wills.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 5.25

A braham Lincoln occasionally got fuming mad with a subordinate, one of his generals, even a friend.
Rather than taking it out on that person directly, he’d write a long letter, outlining his case why they
were wrong and what he wanted them to know. Then Lincoln would fold it up, put the letter in the desk
drawer, and never send it. Many of these letters survive only by chance.
He knew, as the former emperor of Rome knew, that it’s easy to fight back. It’s tempting to give them a
piece of your mind. But you almost always end up with regret. You almost always wish you hadn’t sent
the letter. Think of the last time you flew off the handle. What was the outcome? Was there any benefit?
 February 27th
CULTIVATING INDIFFERENCE WHERE OTHERS GROW PASSION

“Of all the things that are, some are good, others bad, and yet others indifferent. The good are
virtues and all that share in them; the bad are the vices and all that indulge them; the indifferent
lie in between virtue and vice and include wealth, health, life, death, pleasure, and pain.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.19.12b–13

I magine the power you’d have in your life and relationships if all the things that trouble everyone else—
how thin they are, how much money they have, how long they have left to live, how they will die—
didn’t matter so much. What if, where others were upset, envious, excited, possessive, or greedy, you
were objective, calm, and clearheaded? Can you envision that? Imagine what it would do for your
relationships at work, or for your love life, or your friendships.
Seneca was an incredibly wealthy, even famous, man—yet he was a Stoic. He had many material
things, yet, as the Stoics say, he was also indifferent to them. He enjoyed them while they were there, but
he accepted that they might someday disappear. What a better attitude than desperately craving more or
fearfully dreading losing even one penny. Indifference is solid middle ground.
It’s not about avoidance or shunning, but rather not giving any possible outcome more power or
preference than is appropriate. This not easy to do, certainly, but if you could manage, how much more
relaxed would you be?
 February 28th
WHEN YOU LOSE CONTROL

“The soul is like a bowl of water, and our impressions are like the ray of light falling upon the
water. When the water is troubled, it appears that the light itself is moved too, but it isn’t. So,
when a person loses their composure it isn’t their skills and virtues that are troubled, but the
spirit in which they exist, and when that spirit calms down so do those things.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.3.20–22

Y ou messed up a little. Or maybe you messed up a lot.

So? That doesn’t change the philosophy that you know. It’s not as if your reasoned choice has
permanently abandoned you. Rather, it was you who temporarily abandoned it.
Remember that the tools and aims of our training are unaffected by the turbulence of the moment. Stop.
Regain your composure. It’s waiting for you.
 February 29th
YOU CAN’T ALWAYS (BE) GET(TING) WHAT YOU WANT

“When children stick their hand down a narrow goody jar they can’t get their full fist out and start
crying. Drop a few treats and you will get it out! Curb your desire—don’t set your heart on so
many things and you will get what you need.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.9.22

“W e can have it all” is the mantra of our modern lives. Work, family, purpose, success, leisure
time—we want all of this, at the same time (right now, to boot).
In Greece, the lecture hall (scholeion) was a leisure center where students contemplated the higher
things (the good, true, and beautiful) for the purpose of living a better life. It was about prioritization,
about questioning the priorities of the outside world. Today, we’re too busy getting things, just like kids
jamming their hand down a jar of goodies, to do much of this questioning.
“Don’t set your heart on so many things,” says Epictetus. Focus. Prioritize. Train your mind to ask: Do
I need this thing? What will happen if I do not get it? Can I make do without it?
The answers to these questions will help you relax, help you cut out all the needless things that make
you busy—too busy to be balanced or happy.