The Daily Stoic - We Cannot Be Servants To Our Stuff

Episode Date: April 16, 2020

There is a story about King Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. He was leading a massive army campaign, and had picked an ideal spot to stop to break camp. As he began to give out orders, an aide rushed up to inform him that the location lacked enough pasture for the army’s pack animals and that they would have to move. “O Hercules,” Philip cursed in frustration, “what a life I lead if I am obliged to live for the benefit of my asses!” Philip may have been powerful, but not more powerful than the reality of logistics. His unstoppable, all-powerful army was—for all its victories—at the mercy of its weakest link. It has always been and always will be thus. As Marcus Aurelius would write in Meditations about Philip’s son, Alexander—for all his victories too—was buried in the same ground as his mule driver.  Reality has a way of cutting us down to size like that. But the real message of that story is how easily even the most powerful people can become a slave to their stuff. Every soldier Philip pressed into service meant more supplies, which meant more pack animals to carry them, which required larger and larger amounts of fodder. Every ounce of treasure that Philip acquired in victory meant the same. Everything he accomplished or did was actually slowing—weighing—him down.And so it goes for us. Which is why we should remember Seneca’s advice today: “Get used to dining out without the crowds, to being a slave to fewer slaves, to getting clothes only for their real purpose, and to living in more modest quarters.”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 Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wundery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target. The new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, 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 dailystowach.com. We cannot be servants to our stuff. There is a story about King Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. He was leading a massive army campaign and had picked an ideal spot to stop to break camp. As he began to give out orders and aid rushed up to inform him that the location lacked enough pasture for the army's pack animals and that they would have to move, oh, Hercules

Philip cursed in frustration, what a life I lead if I am obliged to live for the benefit of my asses. Philip may have been powerless, but not more powerful than the reality of logistics. His unstoppable, all-powerful army was for all its victories at the mercy of its weakest link. And it has always been and always will be thus. As Marcus Aurelius would write in meditations

about Philip's son, Alexander, for all his victories, too, he was buried in the same ground as his mule driver. Reality has a way of cutting us down to size like that. But the real message of that story is how easily even the most powerful people can become a slave to their stuff. Every soldier Philip pressed into service met more supplies, which met more pack animals to carry them, which required larger and larger amounts of fodder.

Every ounce of treasure that Philip acquired in victory meant the same, everything he accomplished or did was actually slowing or weighing him down. And so it goes for us, which is why we must remember Seneca's advice, to get used to dining out without the crowds, to being a slave to fewer slaves, to getting close only for their real purposes and living in more modest quarters. Hey, everyone. If you're looking for a great way to pass the time and work on improving yourself or your sheltering in place, a really great way to do that is with daily stokes, 30-day

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