The Daily Stoic - Now Is Now

Episode Date: March 7, 2019

There is a beautiful passage on the last page of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s, The Little House in the Big Woods. She writes of an evening in the cabin with her family, her father playing the fiddle, her mom knitting in a rocking chair. “She thought to herself, ‘This is now.’ She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.”It’s a passage that has resonated with millions of people over the last 86 years, including the writer Gretchen Rubin who ends her book Happier At Home with a meditation on how it has inspired her for most of her life. But what does it mean? It means the same thing that the Stoics have always talked about. That you have to live in the very now, even when it is ordinary and quiet, because the now is very special. It is the only thing that is true. What has passed is past, and our memories of it gradually degrade and betray us. What has yet to pass is future, and as we should know by now is never guaranteed. Now is all that is real."Give yourself a gift," Marcus Aurelius wrote, "the present moment."Yet too many of us reject that gift. We continue to think of long ago. We dream of or fear a distant future. We are distracted or preoccupied and miss what is happening around us. It’s the quiet evenings at home with family that we should be present for. It’s the ordinary present that we should cherish. Because it’s all we have.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 the 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. Now is now. There's a beautiful passage on the last page of Laura Ingalls Wilders, the little house in the big woods.

She writes of an evening in the cabin with her family, her father playing the fiddle, her mom knitting in a rocking chair. It says, she thought to herself, this is now. She was glad that the cozy house in Ma and Pa and the firelight and the music were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now can never be a long time ago. It's a passage that has resonated with millions of people over the last 86 years, including the writer Gretchen Rubin who ends her book happier at home with a meditation on how it has inspired her for most of her life.

What does it mean? It means the same thing that the Stoics have always talked about, that you have to live in the very now, even when it is ordinary and quiet, because the now is very special. Give yourself a gift, Marcus Aurelius wrote, the present moment. But too many of us reject that gift. We think of long ago, we dream of, we're fear, a distant future, we are distracted and preoccupied and miss what is happening around us. It's the quiet evenings at home, with family that we should be present for. It's the ordinary present that we should cherish, because it's all we have.

Hey, just a heads up. We are running another daily stoic challenge. This one is a 10-day spring forward challenge. Spring is here. I hope you get ready. I hope you seize this opportunity. Our 10-day challenge is filled with all sorts of actionable stuff. More than 15,000 words of original content. Custom video messages from me. Challenges every day that'll help you simplify your life. Can control of your time. Face your fears. Expand your point of view, band in harmful habits, do more with this existence you've been getting.

Marcus Aurelius' line was, you could be good today instead you choose tomorrow. Well choose today, sign up for the 10-day spring forward Daily Stoic Challenge at dailystoic.com slash challenge. 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 Wondering Plus in Apple podcasts.

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