Simple Stoic Advice
The River of Time
The River of Time
The beautiful thing about Stoic philosophy is the advice contained within it is just as applicable today as it was when it was first written all those many years ago. We can learn a great deal from interpreting the advice provided and using it to our advantage as we go throughout our own lives.
Today’s quote comes to us courtesy of Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.43:
Quote
“Time is a river, a violent current of events, glimpsed once and already carried past us, and another follows and is gone.”
Advice
Throughout the Meditations, Marcus is consistently reinforcing the notion that time only travels in one motion. This helped to keep him present and remind him of the fleeting nature of time. He uses the metaphor of a river continuously as though to illustrate the fact that time only moves in one direction, forward.
Understanding that time only moves in a single direction, we’re better able to embrace the moment and seize it’s opportunities.
Like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca remarked to his friend Lucilius:
“Embrace every hour. If you lay hands on today, you will find you are less dependent on tomorrow.”
Realize you have this brief moment in time. Embrace it.
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