The Daily Stoic - You Must Carve Out Time For Quiet

Episode Date: October 9, 2019

According to the philosopher Blaise Pascal, at the root of most human activity is a desire to escape boredom and self-awareness. We go to elaborate measures, he said, to avoid even a few minutes of quiet. It was true even of the people you think had all the reasons to be happy and content. "A king is surrounded by people,” Pascal wrote, “whose only thought is to divert him and stop him thinking about himself, because, king though he is, he becomes unhappy as soon as he thinks about himself."It’s an observation that puts Marcus Aurelius in an even more impressive light. Think about it: Marcus Aurelius was surrounded by servants and sycophants, people who wanted favors and people who feared him. He had unlimited wealth but endless responsibility. And what did he do with this? Did he throw himself endlessly into the diversion and distraction these blessings and curses offered?No. Instead, he made sure to carve out time to sit quietly by himself with his journals. He probed his own mind on a regular basis. He thought of himself--not egotistically--but with an eye towards noticing his own failings. He questioned himself. He questioned the world around him. He refused to be distracted. He refused to give into temptation. People in his own time probably thought he was a bit dour. They wondered why he did not enjoy all the trappings of wealth and power like his predecessors. What they missed, what’s so easy to miss today in our own blessed lives, is that the true path to happiness is not through externals. It’s found within. It’s found in the stillness. In the quiet. With yourself.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. You must carve out time for quiet. According to the philosopher Blazepasgal, at the root of most human activity was a desire to escape boredom and self-awareness. We go to elaborate measures, he said, to avoid even a few minutes of quiet.

It was true even of the people we think had all the reasons to be happy and content. A king is surrounded by people Paschal wrote, whose only thought is to divert happy and content. A king is surrounded by people Pascal wrote, whose only thought is to divert him and stop him thinking about himself, because king though he is, he becomes unhappy as soon as he thinks about himself. It's an observation that puts Marcus Aurelius in an even more impressive light. Think about it. Marcus Arellius was surrounded by servants and sycophants, people who wanted favors and people who feared him, unlimited occupying matters and unlimited wealth. And what did he do with this? Did he throw himself endlessly into the diversion and distractions? These blessings and curses offered? No, instead he made sure to carve out time to sit quietly by himself with his journals.

He probed his own mind on a regular basis. He thought of himself not egotistically, but with an eye toward noticing his own failings. He questioned himself. He questioned the world around him. He refused to be distracted. He refused to give in to temptation. People in his own time probably thought he was a bit dower. They wondered why he did not enjoy all the trappings of wealth and power like his predecessors.

But what they missed, what's so easy to miss today in our own blessed lives, is that the true path to happiness is not through externals. It's found looking within. It's found in the stillness and the quiet with yourself. And if you feel like you need more quiet and stillness in your own life, I hope you can check out my new book Stillness is the key which applies stoicism and Buddhism and engine philosophy towards achieving more of that. More stillness, more peace, more equanimity in our lives. You can get it anywhere books are sold. It goes on sale October 1st. You can get copies on Amazon.

It's available and audible. It's available at Barnes & Noble and your local independent bookstore. Please check it out. If you like this podcast, please support the book. I think you'll like it. Go for it. on music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.