💀 Dying Every Day
Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project. Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) learn how to live.
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Marcus Aurelius on the art of tranquility
Welcome back to Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year). This is Day 77, and we’re learning what it means to find tranquility.
In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself,
People try to get away from it all—to the country, beach, and mountains. You always wish that you could, too. Which is idiotic: you can get away from it anytime you like. By going within.
Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul, especially if you have other things to rely on. An instant’s recollection and there it is: complete tranquillity. And by tranquillity, I mean a kind of harmony. […]
+Adapted from Meditations, 4.3
Where do you look for tranquility? Do you typically look within (as Marcus Aurelius advised)? For the Stoics, tranquility (or freedom) is only found when we stop looking outside ourselves.
Similarly, the sixteenth-century philosopher Michel de Montaigne (someone influenced by the Stoics) wrote this about the art of solitude:
If you do not first lighten yourself and your soul of the weight of your burdens, moving about will only increase their pressure on you, as a ship’s cargo is less troublesome when lashed in place. You do more harm than good to a patient by moving him about.
+Adapted from On Solitude
Montaigne (like Marcus Aurelius) observed that solitude (or stillness) is not dependent on a particular location. Our inner turmoil, along with our desires and aversions, travels with us. According to Montaigne, true solitude requires one’s soul to turn in on itself.
We are wise to remember that the Stoics, saints, and sages of the past were burdened like us by deadlines and to-do lists. For this reason, they consistently reminded themselves that stillness lies within and that tranquility (or freedom) requires a degree of inwardness.
Reflection Prompt
Consider reflecting (or journaling) on how you think about or experience tranquility. You might ask yourself, “What does it mean to discover ‘complete tranquility’ within oneself?” and/or “Where does one begin to find peace amid the chaos of daily life?”
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Thank you for listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. I greatly appreciate your time, attention, and support!