Welcome to the Commune podcast. My name is Jeff Krasnow. So each and every Tuesday here on the pod,

will you bring you a musing or a reading or a topical episode

that I find interesting or relevant to the strange times that we're living in.

For the next few weeks, however, I'm going to put a little twist on it.

I'm happy to feature a new weekly series on stoicism.

Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that offers practical wisdom on how to live a virtuous and

rational life in harmony with nature. So here's the tightrope I've been walking lately, and maybe

you have two. How do I stay engaged and informed about everything that's happening in the world

without becoming overwhelmed by it? A few years ago, I produced a series

of Stoic Meditations for Commune, our course platform, that takes an in-depth look at Stoicism

and a few other thought-provoking topics. I found myself returning to these lessons during some

of the more jarring and uncertain periods of my life, certainly lately, among the

political tumult. And I wanted to bring them to you here for free in the hopes that they'll

help you face each day with more clarity, gratitude, and understanding. Every Tuesday for the next

four weeks, you'll receive lessons and practices to help you do just that.

I've found great value and benefit from this course and others on Commune, and I truly believe

that they can equip you with the tools to remain centered and to live a good, flourishing,

thriving life. So if you're hungry for more, you can find the video course on Commune for free

at Onecommon.com slash stoic.

There's also an accompanying written series over on Substack at jeffcrasnow.substack.com.

Okay. And now we begin.

So my initial introduction to Stoicism came at the hands of my wife. Yes, she does introduce me to

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