The Daily Stoic - It Comes For All, Young And Old

Episode Date: September 13, 2018

The New York Times Obituary section this past weekend featured a somberly diverse list of losses: William Jordan, the impressionist, was dead at 91. Erich Lessing, a photographer died at 95. Amanda Kyle Williams, the crime writer, at 61. Randy Weston, the Jazz pianist, at 92. Mac Miller, the rapper at 26. Not included, of course, are the thousands of less famous people around the world, who died at ages young and old, of causes expected and unexpected. Some had lived full lives, others were cut tragically short. Mac Miller, whose promising music career ended prematurely, is a reminder of that to all of us. Just X weeks ago, he shot his final music video which included a scene of him carving the words memento mori in a coffin. Talk about art getting real. Death comes for all of us. Indeed, some of us are either in so much pain, or take our existence so for granted--or likely a mix of both--that we actually invite death in early. Others live much longer, but it’s never a given that longevity is superior (there are plenty of people whose age creeps up until the triple digits with little to show for it). Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself that the thought of our mortality should determine what we do and say and think. Meaning: Don’t waste time. Take care of yourself. Make the most of your talents while you’re here. Be prepared for the end. Life is a gift that can be revoked at any moment, we need to remember that. We need to remember that it’s a gift, period, and shouldn’t be treated with respect and appreciation. Memento mori. This is not just a fun phrase to throw around. It’s deadly serious. 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 the 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 dailystowic.com. It comes for all young and old. The New York Times obituary section this past weekend featured a somberly diverse list of losses. William Jordan, the impressionist, was dead at 91. Eric Lesson, a photographer, died at 95. Amanda Kyle Williams, the crime writer at 61.

Randy Weston, the jazz pianist at 92. Mac Miller, the rapper, at 26. Not included, of course, are the thousands of less famous people around the world who died at age as young and old, of causes expected and unexpected. Some had lived full lives, others were tragically cut short. Mac Miller, who's promising music career ended prematurely, is a reminder of that to all of us.

Just a few weeks ago, he shot his final music video, which included a scene of him carving the words, Memento Mori, in a coffin. Talk about art. That's art getting real. Death comes for all of us. Indeed, some of us are either in so much pain or take our existence so for granted, or likely a mix of both that we actually invite death in early. Others live much longer, but it's never a given that longevity is superior.

There are plenty of people whose age creeps up into the triple digits with little to show for it. Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself that the thought of our mortality should determine what we do and say and think. Meaning, don't waste time, take care of yourself, make the most of your talents while you're here, be prepared for the end. Life is a gift that can be revoked at any moment. We need to remember that. We need to remember that it's a gift, period, and should be treated with respect and appreciation. Memento Mori, this is not just a fun phrase to throw around. It's deadly, serious. It's for this very reason that I carry a medallion in my pocket that has a engraving of a skull, has a flower, it has an hourglass, and it has those same words that Mac Miller inscribed

in the roof of that coffin. It says Memento Morii. And then on the back, it has Marcus Aurelius' words. You could leave life right now. The idea of being that we have to remember that and we have to live our lives according to it. If you want to have your own version of this, we even have it in a necklace. You can go to dailystilic.com slash memento.mory. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoic early and ad free on Amazon music, download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.

Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.