The Daily Stoic - Don’t Blend In. Stand Up and Stand Out.

Episode Date: December 5, 2019

In a famous exchange—which we wrote about a while back—Agrippinus explained why he was spurning an invitation to attend some banquet being put on by Nero. Not only was he spurning it, he said, but he had not even considered associating with such a madman. A fellow philosopher, the one who had felt inclined to attend, asked for an explanation. Agrippinus responded with an interesting analogy. He said that most people see themselves like threads in a garment—they see it as their job to match the other threads in color and style. They want to blend in, so the fabric will match. But Agrippinus did not want to blend in. “I want to be the red,” he said, “that small and brilliant portion which causes the rest to appear comely and beautiful…’Be like the majority of people?’ And if I do that, how shall I any longer be the red?” He wanted to be red even if it meant being beheaded or exiled.  Because he felt it was right. Because he wouldn’t be anything other than his true self. It’s like Mark Twain’s line: When we find ourselves on the side of the majority, we should pause and reflect. Because it means we might be going along with the mob. We might have turned off our own mind. We might be muting our true colors.Our job as philosophers, as thinkers, as citizens, is not to go along to get along. We are not just another replaceable thread in an otherwise unremarkable garment. Our job is to stand up. To stand out. To speak the truth. To never blend in. And in so doing, we make the most beautiful contribution of all.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. Don't blend in, stand up and stand out. In a famous exchange, which we talked about a while back on this podcast, a Gryponus explained why he was spurning an invitation to attend some banquet being put on by Nero. Not only was he spurning it, he said, but he had not even considered associating with such a madman. A fellow philosopher, the one who had felt inclined to attend asked for an explanation.

A grippinus responded with an interesting analogy. He said that most people see themselves like threads in a garment. They see it as their job to match the other threads in color and style. They want to blend in so the fabric will match. But a grippinous did not want to blend in. I want to be the red, he said, that small and brilliant portion which causes the rest to appear comely and beautiful. Be like the majority of people, and if I do that, how shall I any longer be the red? He wanted to be red even if it meant being beheaded or exiled because he felt it was right because he wouldn't be anything other than his true self. It's like Mark Twain's line, when we find ourselves on the side of the majority we should pause and reflect. Because it means

we might be going along with the mob, we might have turned off our own mind, we might have muted our colors, we might be betraying our own truth. Our job as philosophers, as thinkers, as citizens is not to go along, to get along. We are not just another replaceable thread and in otherwise unremarkable garment. Our job is to stand up, to stand out, to speak truth, to never blend in. And in doing so, we make the most beautiful contribution of all. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. And if you don't get the Daily Stoke email, go to dailystoke.com slash email. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad free on Amazon Music,

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