💀 Dying Every Day
The Dying Every Day series delivers guided meditations on the art of living. Each meditation provides a quote, a selected passage (from an original Stoic text), and a reflection prompt to consider. These meditations are designed to help you (and me) reflect on what it means to live a good life.
Listen to this week’s meditation on In Search of Wisdom:
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Art of Learning
“So until these wise thoughts have been fixed in you and you have acquired some power to protect yourself, I advise you to be cautious about entering the arena with the uninitiated. Otherwise, whatever you have written down in the classroom will melt away day by day, like wax in the sun.”
—Epictetus, Discourses
Selected Passage
In this week’s meditation, we explore the art of living through a selected reading from the writings of Seneca.
Reading nourishes and refreshes the mind when it is wearied with study; nevertheless, this refreshment is not obtained without study. …
I would have my mind of such a quality as this; it should be equipped with many arts, many precepts, and patterns of conduct taken from many epochs of history, but all should blend harmoniously into one.
“How,” you ask, “can this be accomplished?” By constant effort and by doing nothing without the approval of reason. And if you are willing to hear her voice, she will say: “Abandon those pursuits which previously have caused you to run hither and thither. Abandon riches, which are either a danger or a burden to the possessor. Abandon the pleasures of the body and mind; they only soften and weaken you. Abandon your quest for office; it is a swollen, idle, and empty thing with no goal, as anxious to see no one outstrip it as to see no one at its heels. It is afflicted with envy, and in truth with a twofold envy, and you see how wretched a man’s plight is if he who is the object of envy feels envy also.” …
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness, but if you desire to scale this peak, which lies far above the range of Fortune, you will indeed look down from above upon all that men regard as most lofty but none the less you can proceed to the top over level ground. Farewell.
+Adapted from On Gathering Ideas
Reflection Exercise
Consider reflecting on what it means to improve. Or, put another way, “What constitutes progress on your path?” In this letter, Seneca calls Lucilius to direct his course to wisdom and seek her ways. How does one know if they are genuinely seeking wisdom?
—
Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. If you’re interested in becoming a member but cannot afford it, feel free to request a complimentary membership or use this discount link.