The Daily Stoic - Joy Even So (Part 1)

Episode Date: November 8, 2023

John Adams' life was not an easy one. First, because it was just hard to be alive in the 18th century. It was hard to make dinner. It was hard to stay warm in the winter. It was hard to travel even short distances. It was hard to not die of the endless diseases and injuries that were so tragically common.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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wherever you listen to your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day 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 dailystow.com. Joy even so. John Adams's life was not an easy one. First, because it was just hard to be alive in the 18th century. It was hard to make dinner. It was hard to stay warm in the winter. It's hard to travel even short distances.

It was hard not to die of the endless diseases and injuries. There were so tragically common. And then, of course, there were the years of war that he lived through. The long postings overseas, the political intrigues, the slanders and the press, the portrayals and the heart breaks. Griefs upon griefs, disappointments upon disappointments was how Adams once described life. It's impossible to read his letters and not sense, as we said recently about Marcus

Reelie's Meditations, a kind of world-wearingness. And yet for all that weighed on Adams, like the Stoics, and never broke him. On the contrary, he smiled his way through, because that full quote goes as follows, griefs upon griefs disappointments upon disappointments. What then? This is a gay, merry world, nonwithstanding. His great biographer, David McCullough writes in John Adams that this observation could have served as Adams's epitaph. It could have been Seneca or epictetus's or Marcus's too. Yes, life is hard, people can suck. Yet it's still a gay and merry world.

Still, joy is possible. Still, the best way is to face life with a smile. Never. A sneer. 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 on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. That's why this place is special.

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