Keeping Stoic Focus When Angry

Practical Stoicism

Evergreen Podcasts

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2023

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today's episode features Meditations 5.26. I delve into the profound teachings of Marcus Aurelius, focusing on the importance of maintaining rational control over bodily afflictions. Marcus advises us to accept natural sensations like pain without labeling them as good or bad. He emphasizes the need to avoid letting physical discomforts, such as pain from minor injuries, overwhelm our rational faculties. This concept resonates with me personally, as I share an ongoing struggle to manage my anger towards someone who, despite not harming me in a Stoic sense, has greatly upset me. I explore the difficulty of practicing Stoic teachings in real life, acknowledging the challenge of not holding grudges or judging others harshly for their actions. Reflecting on Seneca's wisdom about the universality of human error and the importance of forgiveness, I discuss how holding onto anger can be more harmful to ourselves than to others. I recommend a pragmatic approach: giving ourselves space and time to process our feelings before confronting the source of our anger. This method may not be strictly Stoic, but it is a practical way to handle intense emotions, ensuring we don't react in ways that could escalate conflicts or harm relationships. Thank you for joining me on this journey of self-reflection and philosophical exploration. Remember, if you're dealing with anger, it's okay to take a step back and give yourself time to cool off. -- Support my work directly on Patreon : https://stoicismpod.com/members Subscribe to my Everyday Stoicism blog : https://everydaystoicism.com Join the Actual Stoicism discord community : https://stoicismpod.com/discord -- Online copy of Meditations (A.S.L Farquharson) : https://link.stoicismpod.com/farquharson Online copy of Enchiridion (Elizabeth Carter) : https://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most of our media are owned by a handful of tech billionaires, but there's one place that still operates like the internet was never invented.
0:10.4	On the new season of the divided dial from On the Media, we're exploring shortwave radio, where prayer and propaganda coexist with news and conspiracy theories, and where an existential battle
0:22.6	for the public airwaves is playing out right now. Listen to On the Media, wherever you get your
0:28.5	podcasts. Good afternoon, Brick Hopton. Yes, I'm a little bit late today. Seems like every time I
0:36.1	travel, I get a scratchy throat or some kind of mild
0:39.3	bug. Ross and I traveled to Camden Town this past week for a few nights in order to stretch our
0:45.4	legs and get out of the cold north of England. The thing is, in last week's case, there was also
0:51.7	the cold south of England. It was practically freezing the entire weekend,
0:56.1	and I realized I was not fit for the weather. But we saw a lot of pretty lights and decorations
1:02.3	and had a couple of nice meals. Nice, meaning, tasty, not expensive. I'm a podcaster. She's a nurse.
1:09.4	We do things on a budget, which, by the way, if you're ever
1:12.4	looking to stay in Camden Town, which, as I understand it, is generally a fairly expensive place,
1:17.8	you should look into the Vernon House on Regents Park Road, right next to the zoo and the park.
1:24.2	I think we did three nights for less than 300 pounds. Skip those hotels when you can.
1:30.3	Booking.com, while not a sponsor, obviously, this is not a travel podcast, is perhaps the most
1:36.2	money-saving accommodation booking tool on the internet, and I'm very thankful for it. Anyway,
1:41.0	none of that has to do with stoicism. I was just wanting to fill you in on the goings-on
1:44.7	of my life and apologize for being late today. In this episode, we'll delve into Meditation 26 from
1:50.7	book 5, which begins with the line, see that the governing and sovereign part of your soul is undiverted
1:58.1	by the smooth or broken movement in the flesh, and let it not blend their width,
2:03.8	but circumscribe itself and limit those affections within the bodily parts.
2:10.1	There's more to this meditation, and we'll hear the whole thing in a moment, but first a few
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