The Daily Stoic - On a Long-Enough Timeline, We Are All Blips

Episode Date: December 6, 2019

Here’s an interesting exercise. Pull up a Spotify playlist for hits from the ‘90s. Or turn on a satellite radio station built around that time. As you listen to the songs, note how many you recognize and how many you’ve never heard of. Now go back an era or two and do the same thing for the ‘80s or for the second wave of classic rock. Then do it again for real oldies. As you keep going backwards, the familiarity will fall further and further away until you’ve heard none of the “hit” songs before—and all the “famous” names sound strange or even made up. The point of this stroll through music history is not nostalgia or even about discovering some forgotten greats. It’s a reminder of how ephemeral we all are. How fleeting fame and life is. As Marcus Aurelius writes:Words once in common use now sound archaic. And the names of the famous dead as well: Camillus, Caeso, Volesus, Dentatus...Scipio and Cato...Augustus...Hadrian and Antoninus and..everything fades so quickly, turns into legend and soon oblivion covers it.He points out something that is worth noting about the music we just flipped through as well: The names we no longer recognize are the most famous ones, the ones who shone for at least a few minutes. The vast majority of people, of art that’s made, of events that happen, are “unknown, unasked-for" and don’t even get this. They were not even blips, they were less than blips. The lesson from this, as with so many Stoic lessons, is humility. We are not nearly as important as we think we are—and even if we are important, the passage of time is an unforgiving leveler. The other lesson is about priorities. If all fame is fleeting, if even the most accomplished and most influential—the writers of the biggest hits and the owners of the greatest songs of their time—are eventually forgotten, why chase it? Why let it make you miserable—why let getting it make you miserable, or not having it make you miserable?Why not focus on right now? On living the life you have as best you can?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. On a long enough timeline, we are all blips. Here is an interesting exercise. Pull up a Spotify playlist for hits from the 90s. Or turn on a satellite radio station built around that time period. As you listen to the songs, note how many you recognize and how many you've never heard

of. Now go back in era or two and do the same thing for the 80s or for the second wave of classic rock. Then do it again for real oldies. As you keep going backwards, the familiarity will fall further and further away until you've heard none of the hit songs before, and all the famous names sound strange or even made up. The point of this stroll through music history is not nostalgia or even about discovering some forgotten greats. It's a reminder of how

ephemeral we all are, how fleeting fame and life is. As Marcus Aurelius writes, words once in common use now sound archaic, and the names of the famous dead as well. Camilius, Casseo, Volsus, Dentatus, Cipio, and Cato, Augustus, Hadrian, and Anteninus, and everything fade so quickly, turns into legend and soon oblivion covers it. He points out something that is worth noting about the music we just flipped through as well. The names we no longer recognize are the most famous ones, the ones who shown for at least a few minutes, the vast majority of people, of art that's made, of events that happen are unknown, unasked for, and don't even get this. They are not even blips. They were less than blips. The lesson from this, as with so many stoic lessons, is humility. We are not nearly as

important as we think we are, and even if we are important, the passage of time is an unforgiving leveler. The other lesson is about priorities. If all fame is fleeting, if even the most accomplished and most influential, the writers of the biggest hits and the owners of the greatest songs of their time are eventually forgotten. Why chase it? Why let it make you miserable? Why let getting it make chase it? Why let it make you miserable? Why let getting it make you miserable? We're not having it make you miserable. Why not focus on

right now on living the life you have as best you can. Memento Mori, remember death, remember you are mortal. Or as Marcus really said, you could leave life right now, let that determine what you do and say and think. I actually wear this reminder in a Sigmite ring on my finger, one of the most ancient and I think meaningful forms of jewelry there is. I wear it on my right ring finger. And we now make a Memento Mori Sigmite ring in the Daily Stoke store. You can check it out at dailystoic.com slash store.

Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and add free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Celebrity feuds are high stakes. You never know if you're just gonna end up on page six or Du Moir or in court. I'm Matt Bellesai. And I'm Sydney Battle,

and we're the host of Wondery's new podcast, Disantel, where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud. From the buildup, why it happened, and the repercussions. What does our obsession with these feuds say about us? The first season is packed with some pretty messy pop culture drama, but none is drawn out in personal as Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears. When Britney's fans form the free Britney movement dedicated to fraying her from the infamous conservatorship, Jamie Lynn's lack of public support,

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You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or The Wondering App. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX Founder Sam Bankman Freed lived that dream life, but it was all funded with other people's money, but he allegedly stole. Many thought Sam Bankman Freed was changing the game as he graced the pages of Forbes and Vanity Fair.

Some involved in crypto saw him as a breath of fresh air from the usual Wall Street buffs with his casual dress and ability to play League of Legends during boardroom meetings, but in less than a year, his exchange would collapse. An SPF would find himself in a jail cell, with tens of thousands of investors blaming him for their crypto losses. From Bloomberg and Wondery, comes Spellcaster, a new six-part docu-series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX, and its founder, Sam Beckman-Freed. Follow Spellcaster wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to episodes

ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.