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 […]
Time to think…about leisure and study
“Leisure without study is death – a tomb for the living person.” Seneca, Moral Letters. Need we say more about this? If we choose not to, perhaps then we fall victim to the very concept itself, in that we look no deeper into the reasons why we can so easily waste away our time in […]
Time to think…about reason and resolve
“Remember that your ruling reason becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself, so that it won’t do anything contrary to its own will, even if its position is irrational. How much more unconquerable if its judgements are careful and made rationally? Therefore, the mind freed from passions is an impenetrable fortress – a […]
Time to think…about your inner beat
“When forced, as it seems, by circumstances into utter confusion, get a hold of yourself quickly. Don’t be locked out of the rhythm any longer than necessary. You’ll be able to keep the beat if you are constantly returning to it.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Know the sound of your own drum and beat it yourself […]
Time to think…about wrestling with life
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.”Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. What challenges might you face today? When limbering up, what core strengths will help get you through? It is the sudden and unexpected events in our lives that […]
Time to think…about change and free will
“Remember that to change your mind and to follow someone’s correction are consistent with a free will. For the action is yours alone – to fulfil its purpose in keeping with your impulse and judgement, and yes, with your intelligence.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. No-one can make you change your mind: that power remains firmly with […]
Time to think…about pain
“Whenever you suffer pain, keep in mind that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and that it can’t degrade your guiding intelligence, nor keep it from acting rationally and for the common good. And in most cases you should be helped by the saying of Epicurus, that pain is never unbearable or unending, so you […]
Time to think…about living gracefully
“What if someone despises me? Let them see to it. But I will see to it that I won’t be found doing or saying anything contemptible. What if someone hates me? Let them see to that. But I will see to it that I’m kind and good-natured to all, and prepared to show even the […]
Time to think…about perseverance
“Success comes to the lowly and to the poorly-talented, but the characteristic of a great person is to triumph over the disasters and panics of human life.” Seneca, On Providence. As Churchill once remarked, “If you’re going through hell, keep going!”. Persevere. Make sense of what is happening. Find meaning. Orientate yourself to that reality […]