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Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom

designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day life.

Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of

history's greatest men and women.

Marcus Aurelis was clearly torn about his fellow man.

He was loving and kind and spoke repeatedly of serving the common good, who's also clearly

frustrated and disappointed with the flaws of the people around him.

Like many great men, he had trouble understanding that not everyone had his gifts.

But all of them were capable of what he was capable of.

You can see in meditations how he wrestled with these feelings.

In the opening passage, he talks about just how obnoxious and annoying and awful the people

he was likely to meet in the course of the upcoming day work.

And then, just when you think it couldn't get any more depressing and dark, he turns around

and reminds himself that they were doing the best they can, and that it's not their fault

that they've been cut off from truth.

In the passage that inspired the obstacle is the way, Marcus is less forgiving.

He talks about how the people who obstruct or bother us are irrelevant, how we can shut

our minds off to them.

It's a theme that comes up a lot.

People are the problem.

People are weak, push them away.

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