The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Day 20
November 1st - Accepting What Is
"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 better."
-Epictetus, Enchiridion, 8
"It is easy to praise providence for anything that may happen if you have two qualities: a complete view of what has actually happened in each instance and a sense of gratitude. Without gratitude what is the point of seeing, and without seeing what is the object of gratitude?"
-Epictetus, Discourses, 1.6.1-2
From the Author:
"Something happened that we wish had not. Which of these is the easiest to change: our opinion or the event that is past?
The answer is obvious. Accept what happened and change your wish that it had not happened. Stoicism calls this the "art of acquiescence" - to accept rather than fight every little thing.
And the most practiced Stoics take it a step further. Instead of simply accepting what happens, they urge us to actually enjoy what has happened - whatever it is. Nietzsche, many centuries later, coined the perfect expression to capture this idea: "amor fati" (A love of fate)"
You must have a ducks back to start, then you must be a pig enjoying the shit he's rolling around in.
It's not easy at all to just simply accept what happens to us (Or better - what we experience that we misunderstand as 'happening' to us), but when you can leave things in the past that you perceive as negative, or when you can see that, for example, the car driving slowly in front of you, - infuriatingly slow - is actually fatefully put there to stop you from potentially making a mistake, getting a fine, or worse, the better off you will be.
That's a very simple to see example that you can recognise in life, but there are many potential examples. Like you don't succeed at a certain venture, maybe you simply weren't working from the soul, instead chasing something that wasn't truly you. If you can't let go of those feelings of failure, disappointment and resentment, then you won't see the door that has opened up in front of you.
Even more difficult than accepting what is, is cherishing the experiences that aren't to plan. But the more you accept, the more you leave those negative emotions, feelings and actions behind, the more you change your mindset, the more perceived positive things happen, and the cycle continues.
Shevacai
npub19u…wgppv
2023-11-01 13:23:43
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2023-11-01 13:23:43Event JSON
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"content": "The Daily Stoic - Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living\n\nDay 20\n\nNovember 1st - Accepting What Is\n\n\"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 better.\"\n\n-Epictetus, Enchiridion, 8\n\n\"It is easy to praise providence for anything that may happen if you have two qualities: a complete view of what has actually happened in each instance and a sense of gratitude. Without gratitude what is the point of seeing, and without seeing what is the object of gratitude?\"\n\n-Epictetus, Discourses, 1.6.1-2\n\nFrom the Author:\n\n\"Something happened that we wish had not. Which of these is the easiest to change: our opinion or the event that is past?\nThe answer is obvious. Accept what happened and change your wish that it had not happened. Stoicism calls this the \"art of acquiescence\" - to accept rather than fight every little thing.\nAnd the most practiced Stoics take it a step further. Instead of simply accepting what happens, they urge us to actually enjoy what has happened - whatever it is. Nietzsche, many centuries later, coined the perfect expression to capture this idea: \"amor fati\" (A love of fate)\"\n\nYou must have a ducks back to start, then you must be a pig enjoying the shit he's rolling around in.\n\nIt's not easy at all to just simply accept what happens to us (Or better - what we experience that we misunderstand as 'happening' to us), but when you can leave things in the past that you perceive as negative, or when you can see that, for example, the car driving slowly in front of you, - infuriatingly slow - is actually fatefully put there to stop you from potentially making a mistake, getting a fine, or worse, the better off you will be.\n\nThat's a very simple to see example that you can recognise in life, but there are many potential examples. Like you don't succeed at a certain venture, maybe you simply weren't working from the soul, instead chasing something that wasn't truly you. If you can't let go of those feelings of failure, disappointment and resentment, then you won't see the door that has opened up in front of you.\n\nEven more difficult than accepting what is, is cherishing the experiences that aren't to plan. But the more you accept, the more you leave those negative emotions, feelings and actions behind, the more you change your mindset, the more perceived positive things happen, and the cycle continues.",
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