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Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic. Each weekday we bring you a meditation inspired by the ancient Stoic, something that can help you live up to those four Stoic virtues of courage, justice, wisdom and temperance.

And here on the weekend we take a deeper dive into those same topics. We interview Stoic philosophers, we reflect, we prepare.

We think deeply about the challenging issues of our time. And we work through this philosophy in a way that's more possible here when we're not rushing to worker to get the kids to school.

And we have the time to think, to go for a walk, to sit with our journals and to prepare for what the future will bring.

Today is a day of rebirth. In the year 33, a man was put to death in a way that expresses the full cruelty of imperial Rome.

He was beaten. He was killed on full display after being forced to carry the weight of the tools of his annihilation to the site of his ultimate demise.

No, not Cicero, whose head and hands in tongue were put up in the forum by Mark Antony, or the Stoic Gaius Ploutus, whose head was cut off and mocked by Nero, or Senaqa, whose poison had his wrist slit and smothered at the orders of the man he had tutored into adulthood.

Or even Justin Martyr, who during Marcus Aurelius' time was beaten, whipped until the skin was torn from his body and then beheaded.

This man referred to as Christus, and Tacitus' writing, was brutally crucified and entombed. And then, three days later, he rose again.

Now, whether you consider the events of Jesus' death to be holy to you or not, there is nevertheless a powerful lesson in them. A man went bravely to his death.

A man with his last words said, forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do. A man died willingly, believing he would absolve mankind for its sins.

And then from this loss, he and mankind were reborn. We should take this day, Easter Sunday, as a moment to reflect on the beauty of rebirth and redemption, especially this Easter, as we begin to see the light at the end of the long dark tunnel that has been our collective journey through the COVID-19 pandemic.

No matter what has happened, no matter what we've done, none of us are beyond redemption. Even in the brutality of Jesus' execution, there is evidence of this.

Well known is the story of the Roman soldier who, as Jesus was writhing on the cross, offered him a sponge soaked in vinegar.

This has long been taken as an example of extreme cruelty. In fact, it is the opposite.

The Roman legions drink vinegar wine to reduce their thirst. This was an act of mercy, quite possibly a great risk to the soldier.

There is good in all of us, even those of us who have done bad things. There is hope for all of us. The future can be brighter as dark as the past year has been.

Let today, regardless of your beliefs, mark a moment of rebirth, of rejuvenation, of re-emergence. Tell yourself, as Epictetus said, that you are not going to wait any longer to demand the best of yourself.

Don't, as Marcus Aurelius reminded himself, choose to be good tomorrow, choose to be good today. For it is a new day, and it can be the beginning of a new you as well.

Happy Easter, everyone. I hope this is a special day for you. I hope everyone is being safe and smart. I hope you keep trucking along, and I'll talk to you soon.

Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. Welcome to another weekend episode, the Daily Stoke Podcast.

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