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The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
Circumstances are what deceive us — you must be discerning in them. We embrace evil before good. We desire the opposite of what we once desired. Our prayers are at war with our prayers, our plans with our plans.” — Seneca, Moral Letters, 45.6
In not so many words Seneca is saying we are FULL OF SHIT. All of us. At times we are all walking contradictions and our actions don’t match our words. I have pity for politicians; the left and the right. They have been torn apart for anything they do. Since this is the case, your personal value structure has to be iron-clad. Looks like the system doesn’t promote that. You also have to be open to criticism. In a perfect world you would be open to others being right about your impure actions. The only guarantee is there will be times your actions won’t align with your values.
Our idols, people in positions of power, and anyone with the internet talk a lot. In many ways the internet world is decoupled from the physical world. Let’s not listen to the political pundits or athletes ramble about macro topics. They speak their sound bite blaming the system. Next, they sleep on Egyptian cotton sheets in a gated community. Yet, they might deserve that with the amount of mental abuse they take from all our energy focusing on them. In many ways, money received is responsibility. If our actions aren’t aligned with our values then that money received could be extremely problematic.
Take my words here lightly, but apply them to your life. Words of encouragement get us into motion. Do not think you are better than you are but know that you are enough as you are. Let’s not look at my words here on medium for too long.
Sit with Seneca’s words for a moment. Think for a minute about your past and how these words fit into your life. Most importantly, live your day and be mindful of how often your words meet your actions. We could all keep ourselves busy doing that for a while.
My personal reflection note: The systems want us divided. Don’t let them win. Transcend those structures. Community and family is what I need. Right now it is missing. Let my actions eventually align with my words. Good luck on your journey to do the same.
Cheers,
Ace.
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