Simple Stoic Advice
Time for reflection
Time for reflection
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 2.7:
Quote
“Do the things external which fall upon you distract you? Give yourself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around.”
Advice
Unlike any age before us, we are living in an age of pure information. Anything we want to know, anything we want in general, is at our fingertips. But with that comes the question of how to properly process it all.
Not all information is created equally. There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom is about the application of what one knows, knowledge is a general understanding of lots of things.
And this is what Marcus is referencing within his quote. Stoicism was a philosophy of practice. It was meant to not only be read but acted out. Wisdom comes from taking the knowledge we attain and applying it to our lives.
We can easily go down a rabbit hole of knowledge that quickly begins to overcomplicate our understanding and therefore cloud our thinking.
Reflection, therefore, is key to setting the mind right and “good”. We must take time for ourselves to digest all that we have taken in. Journaling about life and the things we learn helps to process the information and design a path we would like to go.
Pursue wisdom to provide value within your life, not trivia.
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