August

1st
DON’T GO EXPECTING PERFECTION

“That cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough
said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance? Such thinking would make you a laughing-stock to
the true student of Nature, just as a carpenter or cobbler would laugh if you pointed out the
sawdust and chips on the floors of their shops. Yet while those shopkeepers have dustbins for
disposal, Nature has no need of them.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 8.50

W e want things to go perfectly, so we tell ourselves that we’ll get started once the conditions are
right, or once we have our bearings. When, really, it’d be better to focus on making do with how
things actually are.
Marcus reminded himself: “Don’t await the perfection of Plato’s Republic.” He wasn’t expecting the
world to be exactly the way he wanted it to be, but Marcus knew instinctively, as the Catholic philosopher
Josef Pieper would later write, that “he alone can do good who knows what things are like and what their
situation is.”
Today, we won’t let our honest understanding of the world stop us from trying to make the best of it.
Nor will we let petty annoyances and minor obstacles get in the way of the important job we have to do.
 August 2nd
WE CAN WORK ANY WAY

“Indeed, how could exile be an obstacle to a person’s own cultivation, or to attaining virtue when
no one has ever been cut off from learning or practicing what is needed by exile?”
—MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 9.37.30–31, 9.39.1

L ate in his life, after a surgery, Theodore Roosevelt was told he might be confined to a wheelchair for
the remainder of his days. With his trademark ebullience, he responded, “All right! I can work that
way too!”
This is how we can respond to even the most disabling turns of fate—by working within whatever
room is left. Nothing can prevent us from learning. In fact, difficult situations are often opportunities for
their own kinds of learning, even if they’re not the kinds of learning we’d have preferred.
Musonius Rufus, for his part, was exiled three times (twice by Nero and once by Vespasian), but being
forcibly expelled from his life and his home didn’t impinge on his study of philosophy. In his way, he
responded by saying “All right! I can work that way too.” And he did, managing to squeeze in some time
between exiles with a student named Epictetus and thus helping to bring Stoicism to the world.
 August 3rd
THE GOOD LIFE IS ANYWHERE

“At this moment you aren’t on a journey, but wandering about, being driven from place to place,
even though what you seek—to live well—is found in all places. Is there any place more full of
confusion than the Forum? Yet even there you can live at peace, if needed.”
—SENECA, M ORAL LETTERS, 28.5b–6a

A well-known writer once complained that after becoming successful, wealthy friends were always
inviting him to their beautiful, exotic houses. “Come to our home in the south of France,” they would say.
Or, “Our Swiss ski chalet is a wonderful place to write.” The writer traveled the world, living in luxury,
hoping to find inspiration and creativity in these inspiring manors and mansions. Yet it rarely happened.
There was always the allure of another, better house. There were always distractions, always so many
things to do—and the writer’s block and insecurity that plagues creative types traveled with him
wherever he went.
We tell ourselves that we need the right setup before we finally buckle down and get serious. Or we
tell ourselves that some vacation or time alone will be good for a relationship or an ailment. This is self-
deceit at its finest.
It’s far better that we become pragmatic and adaptable—able to do what we need to do anywhere,
anytime. The place to do your work, to live the good life, is here.
 August 4th
NO BLAME, JUST FOCUS

“You must stop blaming God, and not blame any person. You must completely control your desire
and shift your avoidance to what lies within your reasoned choice. You must no longer feel
anger, resentment, envy, or regret.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.22.13

N elson Mandela was imprisoned for resistance to the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa for
twenty-seven years. For eighteen of those years, he had a bucket for a toilet, a hard cot in a small
cell, and once a year he was allowed a single visitor—for thirty minutes. It was vicious treatment meant
to isolate and break down the prisoners. And yet, in spite of that, Mandela became a figure of dignity
within the prison.
Though he was deprived of many things, he still found creative ways to assert his will. As one of his
fellow prisoners, Neville Alexander, explained on Frontline, “He [Mandela] always made the point, if
they say you must run, insist on walking. If they say you must walk fast, insist on walking slowly. That was
the whole point. We are going to set the terms.” He pretended to jump rope and shadowboxed to stay in
shape. He held his head higher than other prisoners, encouraged them when times got tough, and always
retained his sense of self-assurance.
That self-assurance is yours to claim as well. No matter what happens today, no matter where you find
yourself, shift to what lies within your reasoned choices. Ignore, as best you can, the emotions that pop up,
which would be so easy to distract yourself with. Don’t get emotional—get focused.
 August 5th
SILENCE IS STRENGTH

“Silence is a lesson learned from the many sufferings of life.”

—SENECA, THYESTES, 309

R ecall the last time you said a really boneheaded thing, something that came back to bite you. Why did
you say it? Chances are you didn’t need to, but you thought doing so would make you look smart or
cool or part of the group.
“The more you say,” Robert Greene has written, “the more likely you are to say something foolish.”
To that we add: the more you say, the more likely you are to blow past opportunities, ignore feedback, and
cause yourself suffering.
The inexperienced and fearful talk to reassure themselves. The ability to listen, to deliberately keep
out of a conversation and subsist without its validity is rare. Silence is a way to build strength and self-
sufficiency.