The Daily Stoic - The Most Beautiful Model Of A Perfect Life

Episode Date: June 25, 2023

Marcus Aurelius’s father died when he was young. But then this young boy who was cursed by tragedy received a great gift. A gift that all children who have received it know to be one of the most incredible things in the world: a loving step-father.Ernest Renan wrote that, more than his teachers and tutors, “Marcus had a single master whom he revered above them all, and that was Antoninus.” All his adult life, Marcus strived to be a disciple of his adoptive stepfather. While he lived, Marcus saw him, Renan said, as “the most beautiful model of a perfect life.”---And in today’s audiobook reading, we hear in Marcus Aurelius’s own words what he learned from and thought about Antoninus, and he admired him so. 🌳 Happy Father’s Day to everyone! Just an FYI, we also send out a daily email (and daily podcast) about parenting over at DailyDad.com. We’d love to have you join us!✉️ 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.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic Podcast. On Sundays, we take a deeper dive into these ancient topics with excerpts from the Stoic texts, from the Stoic texts, audio books that you like here, recommend here at Daily Stoic, and other long form wisdom that you can chew on on this relaxing weekend. We hope this helps shape your understanding of this philosophy and most importantly that you're able to apply it to with life. Thank you for listening. The most beautiful model of a perfect life. Happy Father's Day to all those who celebrate, by the way, and if you are looking to be a better parent or you know a parent in your life, not only is there the new daily dad book, which you can check out, but I sent out a free parenting email, do a free parenting podcast every single day at daily dad. And then, his father died when he was young. But then this young boy who was cursed by tragedy received a great gift, a gift that all children who have received it know to be one of the most incredible things in the world. A loving stepfather. Ernest Rennon wrote that more than his teachers and tutors, Marcus had a single master whom

he revered above them all, And that was Antoninus. All his adult life, Marcus, strived to be the disciple of his adopted stepfather. While he lived, Marcus saw him, Renon said, as the most beautiful model of the perfect life. So what were the things that Marcus learned from Antoninus? Well, you learned the importance of compassion and hard work, persistence, altruism, self-reliance, and cheerfulness.

You learned about keeping an open mind and listening to anyone who could contribute. About taking responsibility and blame and also putting others at ease about yielding the Florida experts and using their advice, knowing when to push something or someone and when to back off, being indifferent to superficial honors and treating people as they deserve to be treated.

It's quite a list, isn't it? And these lessons, the impact in Mark is so deeply he remembered them far into adulthood and recorded them for his own reference in what would become meditations. But most of all what made these lessons so powerful was that they were embodied in Antoninus' actions rather than written on some tablet or scroll or in some philosophical treaties. There is no better way to learn than from a role model. There's no better way to judge our progress than in constant company with a person we would most like to be like some day.

Again, if you're a parent to be or you enjoy the daily stoke email, I hope you subscribe to the daily dad newsletter It's called daily dad because I'm a dad, but it's for parents of all types and stripes It's one piece of timeless parenting wisdom delivered straight to your inbox every weekday morning And the best of that email is also just turned into the daily dad 366 meditations on parenting love and raising great kids Thank you to all of you who pre-ordered it put it on the best settle list. It's 366 meditations on parenting love and raising great kids. Thank you to all of you who pre-ordered it,

put it on the best settle list. It's already finding its own audience. You can grab a signed copy at store.dailydad.com. But happy Father's Day everyone, and maybe we all strive to be as good a parent as an antinitis. Life can get you down. I'm no stranger to that. When I find things are piling up, I'm struggling to deal with something. Obviously, I use my journal, obviously I turn to stochism, but I also turn to my therapist, which I've had for a long time,

and has helped me through a bunch of stuff. And because I'm so busy and I live out in the country, I do therapy remote so I don't have to drive somewhere. And that's where today's sponsor comes in. Toxbase makes it easy to find a therapist that you like. It's convenient. It's affordable. By doing everything online, Toxbase makes getting the help you want easy and affordable. So why wait? And Toxbase can help with any specific challenge you might be facing. That's why it's the number one online therapy platform with license therapists and over 40 specialties.

It's secure and private and in network with most major insurers as a listener of this podcast, you can get 80 bucks off your first month with talk space when you go to talkspace.com slash stoic to match with a license therapist today. Go to talkspace.com slash stoic to get 80 bucks off your first month and show your support for the daily stoke. That's ToxPace.com slash stoic. I learned from my adopted father, compassion, unwavering adherence to decisions once he'd reached them, in difference to superficial honors, hard work, persistence, listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good, his doggy determination to treat people as they deserved, a sense of when to push and when to back off, putting

a stop to the pursuit of boys, his altruism, not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner or to travel with him, unless they wanted to. And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something, always found him the same when he returned. His searching questions at meetings, a kind of single-mindedness, almost never content with first impressions, or breaking off the discussion prematurely. His constancy to his friends, never getting fed up with them or playing favorites, self-reliance always, and cheerfulness, and his advanced planning well in, and his discreet attention to even minor things, his restrictions on acclimations, and all attempts to flatter him,

his constant devotion to the empire's needs, his stewardship of the treasury, his willingness to take responsibility and blame for both. His attitude to the God's no superstitiousness, and his attitude to men, no demigodgery, no curing favor, no pandering, always sober, always steady, and never vulgar or pray to fads. The way he handled the material comforts that fortune had supplied him in such abundance without arrogance and without apology. If they were there, he took advantage of them. If not, he didn't miss them. No one ever called him glib or shameless or pedantic.

They saw him for what he was, a man tested by life, accomplished, unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern both himself and them. His respect for people who practiced philosophy, at least those who were sincere about it, but without denigrating the others, or listening to them. His ability to feel at ease with people and put them at their ease without being pushy. His willingness to take adequate care of himself, not a hypokondriac or obsessed with his appearance, but not ignoring things either. With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention, or drugs, or any sort of salve or ointment.

This in particular, his willingness to yield the floor to experts in oratory, law, psychology, whatever, and to support them energetically so that each of them could fulfill his potential. That he respected tradition without needing to constantly congratulate himself for safeguarding our traditional values. Not prone to go off on tangents or pulled in all directions, but sticking with the same old places and the same old things. The way he could have one of his migraines and then go right back to what he was doing, fresh and at the top of his game. It's funny, I talked to lots of people

and a good chunk of those people haven't been readers for a long time. They've just gotten back into it. And I always love hearing that and they tell me how they fall in love with reading. They're reading more than ever. And I go, let me guess, you listen audio books, don't you? And it's true. And almost invariably, they listen to them on Audible. And that's because Audible offers an incredible selection of audio books across every genre from bestsellers and new releases to celebrity memoirs. And of course,

ancient philosophy. All my books are available on audio, read by me for the most part. Audible lets you enjoy all your audio entertainment in one app. You'll always find the best of what you love, or something new to discover, and as an Audible member, you get to choose one title a month to keep from their entire catalog, including the latest best sellers and new releases. You'll discover thousands of titles from popular favorites, exclusive new series, and exciting new voices in audio. You can check out Stillness is the key. The Daily Dad, I just recorded so that's up on Audible now. Coming up on the 10-year anniversary of the obstacle is the way audiobooks, so all those are available. And new members can try Audible for free for 30 days.

Visit audible.com slash daily stoke or text daily stoke to 500-500. That's audible.com slash daily stoke or text daily stoke to 500-500. dot com slash daily stoke or text daily stoke to 500 500. That he had so few secrets, only state secrets in fact, and not all that many of those. The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds, games, building projects, distributions of money, and so on, because he looked to what needed doing, and not the credit to be gained from doing it. No bathing at strange hours, no self-indulgent building projects, no concern for food or the cut and color of his clothes, or having attractive slaves.

The robe from his farm at Lorium, most of the things at Leneuvium, the way he accepted the customs agent's apology at Tuscalam, etc. He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, for turned violent. No one ever saw him sweat.

Everything was to be approached logically and with due consideration, in a calm and orderly fashion, but decisively, and with no loose ends. You could have said of him, as they say of Socrates, that he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most people find it hard to abstain from, and all too easy to enjoy. Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas, the mark of a soul in readiness, indomitable. Book 16. Escape imperialization, that indelible stain. It happens. Make sure you remain straightforward, upright, reverent, serious, unadorned, an ally of justice, pious, kind, affectionate, and doing your duty with a will.

Fight to be the person philosophy tried to make you. Revere the gods, watch over human beings. Our lives are short. The only rewards of our existence here are an un-stained character and unselfish acts. Take Antoninus as your model, always. His energy in doing what was rational. His steadiness in any situation, his sense of reverence, his calm expression, his gentleness, his modesty, his eagerness to grasp things, and how

he never let things go before he was sure he had examined them thoroughly, understood them perfectly. them thoroughly, understood them perfectly, the way he put up with unfair criticism without returning it, how he couldn't be hurried, how he wouldn't listen to informers, how reliable he was a judge of character and of actions, not prone to backbiting or cowardice, or jealousy, or empty rhetoric, content with the basics, in living quarters, bedding, clothes, food, servants, how hard he worked, how much he put up with. His ability to work straight through till dusk, because of his simple diet, he didn't even need to relieve himself, except at set times. His constancy and reliability as a friend.

His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views and his delight at seeing his ideas improved on. His piety without a trace of superstition, so that when your time comes, your conscience will be as clear as his. Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoke Podcast. Just a reminder, we've got signed copies of all my books in the Daily Stoke Store. You can get them personalized, you can get them sent to a friend, the obstacle is the way. You go as the enemy, still in this is the key, the leather bound addition of the daily stoke,

we have them all in the daily stoke store, which you can check out at store 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. 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, Dis and Tell, 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, it angered some fans, a lot of them. It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents,

but took their anger out on each other. And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Britney. Follow Dissentel wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wonder App. you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondery app.