When The World Got Still | Ask DS
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures
4.5 • 5.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 February 2024
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It was anxiety inducing and scary, but there was also a stillness in it. Because you were forced, against your will, to truly practice Stoicism. Not just in the sense that you had to persist and act despite that fear—because people and things were counting on you—but also because it was so clear what was in your control and what wasn’t. You came face to face with undeniable reality, overwhelming events and all you could do is focus on your response. You had to practice what Epictetus called ‘the art of acquiescence’—ditching all those plans, accepting all the costs, the hits to your portfolio, the lost time, the inescapable human frailty and mortality we all wish to deny.
And within this, you also had to do and be good, for yourself, for your family, for your community, because your individual decisions had clear and unavoidable consequences for other people.
It was a moment made for Stoicism, a moment when stillness was the key, as it is for all crises. And right now, the ebook for Stillness is the Key is on sale for $1.99! Grab it today, for you or someone else, if you haven’t already.
The good news is you survived the moment, obviously, or you wouldn’t be reading this, but now the world has ‘gone back to normal,’ whatever that means. Things are busy and noisy again. Life is moving fast again. How much of that stillness, how much of that Stoicism, has drifted away as well? That’s the real question.
Because Stoicism is not just for the crises, but also for the every day life. It’s for right now, too. It’s today that you need to be focused on what’s in your control, it’s today that you need to practice acceptance, practice memento mori. It’s today that you need to think about your community. It’s today that you need to find the stillness even as the world is spinning faster than ever.
Good luck!
Grab a Stillness Key for 50% off by using code STILLNESSISTHEKEY at check out.
*A note on the audio for this episode: an issue with Chad's live mic resulted in the discrepancy in audio quality that you hear. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast where each day we read a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you in your everyday life. |
| 0:14.0 | Well, on Thursdays, we not only read the daily meditation, |
| 0:17.0 | but we answer some questions from listeners and fellow Stoics. |
| 0:20.0 | We're trying to apply this philosophy just as you are. Some of these come from my talks. Some of these come |
| 0:26.7 | from Zoom sessions that we do with Daily Stoic Life members or as part of the challenges. |
| 0:33.6 | Some of them are from interactions I have on the street |
| 0:36.4 | when there happened to be someone there recording. |
| 0:39.0 | But thank you for listening, and we hope this is of use to you. |
| 0:43.0 | When the world got still, |
| 0:50.0 | it seems like forever ago and just last month, you were going about your life, |
| 0:58.0 | you had work projects, you had plans for your kids upcoming spring break, |
| 1:01.8 | you're getting excited for March madness you were thinking |
| 1:04.2 | about the latest political controversy gossiping with your friends about celebrity news you were |
| 1:09.6 | busy things were noisy everything was moving fast Then suddenly it came to a screeching |
| 1:15.2 | unprecedented stop. The world locked down. As we said before life can get |
| 1:20.0 | narrow real quick. It was a global pandemic but your concerns were very local, your family, your health, |
| 1:26.1 | how would you get groceries or even toilet paper? It was anxiety-inducing and scary but there was also |
| 1:31.6 | a stillness in it because you were forced against |
| 1:34.6 | your will to truly practice stoicism not just in the sense that you had to persist and |
| 1:39.5 | act despite that fear because people and things were counting on you, but also because it was so clear what was in your control and what wasn't. |
| 1:47.0 | You came face to face with undeniable reality, overwhelming events, and all you could do was focus on your response. |
| 1:54.0 | You had to practice what Epictetus called the art of acquiescence, |
... |
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