Time to think…about being glad to be alive
“Keep death and exile before your eyes each day, along with everything that seems terrible – by doing so, you’ll never have a base thought nor will you have excessive desire.” Epictetus, Enchiridion. These days it’s difficult to keep images of death and exile away from our eyes, so I’ve chosen an unrelated image of […]
Time to think…about shaping the life you have
“Philosophy does not claim to get a person any external possession. To do so would be beyond its field. As wood is to the carpenter, bronze to the sculptor, so our own lives are the proper material in the art of living.” Epictetus, Discourses. Learn to live with what you have, in the here-and-now. Recognise […]
Time to think…about the reasons why things happen
“The person who follows reason in all things will have both leisure and a readiness to act. They are at once both cheerful and self-composed.”Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Most of what happens in life is not in our control. Some call it luck – good luck, bad luck – and both are accompanied by appropriate emotions: […]
Time to think…about what’s done is done.
“Don’t lament this and don’t get agitated.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Save your energy for living in the present. Don’t allow emotions about things that have already happened to get the better of you: endless rumination about ‘if only’ will make those emotions resurface and feel almost as powerful as when they first occurred. In a […]
Time to think…about surprises
“Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she’s unexpected. The one always on the lookout easily endures.” Seneca, On Consolation to Helvia. I’m an unashamed attentive optimist: I gain energy from thinking about the positive outcome I want to achieve, and I believe I have a fair chance of achieving it, but at the same […]
Time to think…about living in the present
“A good isn’t created by the addition of time, but if one is wise even for a moment, they will be no less happy than the person who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in it.” Chrysippus In the words of the fab Sheffield band ABC, “Why make the past your […]
Time to think…about keeping moving on
https://facevaluepp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Stepping-Stones-Porterbrook.mov “Meditate often on the swiftness with which all that exists and is coming into being is swept by us and carried away. For substance is like a river’s unending flow, its activities continually changing and causes infinitely shifting so that almost nothing at all stands still.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. It is important to take […]
Time to think…about feeding your fears
“Hecato says cease to hope and you will cease to fear. The primary cause of both these ills is that instead of adapting ourselves to present circumstances, we send out thoughts too far.” Seneca, Moral Letters. When surrounded by bad news of trauma and strife, it’s easy to understand how and why we indulge in […]
Time to think…about the power of your opinions
“When you are distressed by an external thing, it’s not the thing itself that troubles you, but only your judgement of it. And you can wipe this out at a moment’s notice.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. There are plenty of things in life that are unpleasant and that we wish would not happen. The loss of […]
Time to think…about it is what it is
“Remember that you are an actor in a play, playing a character according to the will of the playwright – if a short play, then it’s short; if long, long. If he wishes you to play the beggar, play even that role well.” Epictetus, Enchiridion. Do the best you can with what you have in […]
Time to think…about the strength you have
“Don’t trust in your reputation, money or position, but in the strength that is yours – namely, your judgements about the things that you control and don’t control. For this alone is what makes us free and unfettered, that picks us up by the neck from the depths and lifts us eye to eye with […]
Time to think…about the ups and downs of life
“If the breaking day sees someone proud, the ending day sees them brought low. No-one should put too much trust in triumph, no-one should give up hope of trials improving.” Seneca, Thyestes. Be grateful for what you have and what you can control, and be accepting of the rest. After all, it is what it […]
Time to think…about the constant that is change
“There is no evil in things changing, just as there is no good in persisting in a new state.” Marcus Aurelius. Take the time each day to stop and have a look around you. What you have done, where you have been, where you got to, how you have changed. You cannot step into the […]
Time to think…about your future
“Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will – then your life will flow well.” Epictetus, Enchiridion. It is a part of the human condition to spend time trying to predict our future, or dwelling on the past in the hope that […]
Time to think…about what shapes your character
“Each person acquires their own character, but their official roles are designated by chance. You should invite some to your table because they are deserving, others because they may come to deserve it.” Seneca, Moral Letters. Whatever hand life has dealt you, the power to choose your attitude about it remains all yours. Viktor Frankl, […]
Time to think…about what goes around
“Crimes often return to their teacher.” Seneca, Thyestes. What goes around, comes around. Do unto others as you would have done onto yourself. Watch what you do doesn’t come back to bite you (usually on your behind!). If you are frustrated by the poor behaviour of others, how often do you feel justified in responding […]
Time to think…about your defining characteristics
“People aren’t in awe of your sharp mind? So be it. But you have many other qualities you can’t claim to have been deprived of at birth. Display then those qualities in your own power: honesty, dignity, endurance, chastity, contentment, frugality, kindness, freedom, persistence, avoiding gossip, and magnanimity.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. “Some are born great, […]
Time to think…about trying to be well-rounded every day
“So someone’s good at taking down an opponent, but that doesn’t make them more community-minded, or modest, or well-prepared for any circumstance, or more tolerant of the faults of others.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Being a champion at one thing doesn’t make us brilliant at everything else. We are all winners and losers – more-or-less – […]
Time to think…about living for today and not tomorrow
“Such behaviour! People don’t want to praise their contemporaries whose lives they actually share, but hold great expectations for the praise of future generations – people they haven’t met or ever will! This is akin to being upset that past generations didn’t praise you.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Keeping a daily gratitude diary – writing down […]
Time to think…about turning away from tempting little habits
“Since habit is such a powerful influence, and we’re used to pursuing our impulses to gain and avoid outside our own choice, we should set a contrary habit against that, and where appearances are really slippery, use the counterforce of our training.” Epictetus, Discourses. The emphasis needed here is on the word ‘training’. Successful impulse […]
Time to think…about being a true friend
“There’s nothing worse than a wolf befriending sheep. Avoid false friendships at all costs. If you are good, straightforward, and well-meaning, it should show in your eyes and not escape notice.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. It’s unrealistic to believe that we can and should like everyone we meet, and that everyone should like us in return. […]
Time to think…about being kind today
“A benefit should be kept like a buried treasure, only to be dug up in necessity. Nature bids us to do well by all. Wherever there is a human being, we have an opportunity for kindness.” Seneca, On The Happy Life. We all have it in us to reach inside ourselves and bring forth support, […]
Time to think…about doing the right thing for everyone else, not just you
“That which isn’t good for the hive, isn’t good for the bee.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. How strong is your organizational citizenship this week? Consider those group-wide behaviours (rituals, habits, friction, artefacts and even hero- or demon-worship) that influence the wellbeing of the individual. Healthy practice at work needs to go across the organization and not […]
Time to think…about avoiding luxury
“As for me, I would choose being sick over living in luxury, for being sick only harms the body, whereas luxury destroys both the body and the soul, causing weakness and incapacity in the body, and lack of control and cowardice in the soul. What’s more, luxury breeds injustice because it also breeds greediness.” Musonius […]
Time to think…about the interconnectedness of things
“Meditate often on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe. For in a sense, all things are mutually woven together and therefore have an affinity for each other – for one thing follows after another according to their tension of movement, their sympathetic stirrings, and the unity of all substance.” Marcus […]
Time to think…about letting your virtue shine forth
“Does the light of a lamp shine and keep its glow until its fuel is spent? Why shouldn’t your truth, justice, and self-control shine until you are extinguished?”Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Is there a right time to be yourself? How often do we constrain our inner selves and deny our own needs? Have you ever held […]
Time to think…about needs and gratitude
“Nothing can satisfy greed, but even a small measure satisfies nature. So it is that the poverty of an exile brings no misfortune, for no place of exile is so barren as not to produce ample support for a person.” Seneca, On Consolation to Helvia. How comfortable we become as we progress – but only […]
Time to think…about shock and facing danger
“Once your mind has been shocked – once it gets in the habit of blind panic – it can’t provide for its own safety. For it doesn’t really avoid danger, it just runs away. Yet we are exposed to greater danger with our backs turned.” Seneca, Moral Letters. At some point we need to stop […]