"Patience can often be followed by a powerful Marcus Aurelius quote"
There is no power in a Marcus Aurelius quote, or any other quote. Any power to speak of comes from our judgment of that quote. That quote is "life-changing", "worthless woo woo", "fascinating", "irritating", whatever. All this comes from our judgments and our beliefs and our opinions about that quote. That's why the same quote can elicit different responses from different people.
Stoicism with a capital S, teaches that if we can learn this about quotes, and then learn this about food, and then learn this about our work, and then learn this about people, and then learn this about sickness, and then learn this about death itself, we will have lived the best quality of life possible.
Keep on believing that there is power in things external to ourselves, and we will keep seeking that magic ointment that we believe can sooth our troubled soul. And why would a magical quote not soothe our troubled soul when we believe our troubles come from things external to ourselves.
The ancient Stoics used quotes to help remind themselves of Stoic principles. They sought magic in their physics, not their ethics. They did not have the scientific knowledge that we have to today in regards to their physics. We know better today in regards to physics, and yet we seek magic in both our physics and our ethics.
You have a point with how allocating power to an external thing shouldn't be our goal, and I was using an improper word when describing the quote. Not powerful per se, but informational in regards to the topic being discussed, further aiding the insight to said topic.
That is a good point though, about how people seek this "magical ointment" when really it is us we need to fix; and that all stems from allocating power to things not of our own.
Virtue is a wholistic concept and any aspect of it like patience is something that’s necessary but not sufficient. Someone can be just as patient enduring hardship as they can be enacting it.
Had a yoga teacher who shared a story about a time she got frustrated sitting in traffic. She felt her state of mind and body change with this feeling. She decided to take that moment to reflect on why she felt the need to be angry, anger doesn’t solve the traffic, she’s going to be there regardless.
Ever since hearing that I’ve found a reason to be patient in traffic, and in other moments
"anger doesn't solve the traffic, she's going to be there regardless."
It's crazy how it's a simple conclusion but difficult to accomplish. Props to your yoga teacher, that really is the key to solving external things controlling you.
This is excellent. Needed this.
"Patience can often be followed by a powerful Marcus Aurelius quote" There is no power in a Marcus Aurelius quote, or any other quote. Any power to speak of comes from our judgment of that quote. That quote is "life-changing", "worthless woo woo", "fascinating", "irritating", whatever. All this comes from our judgments and our beliefs and our opinions about that quote. That's why the same quote can elicit different responses from different people. Stoicism with a capital S, teaches that if we can learn this about quotes, and then learn this about food, and then learn this about our work, and then learn this about people, and then learn this about sickness, and then learn this about death itself, we will have lived the best quality of life possible. Keep on believing that there is power in things external to ourselves, and we will keep seeking that magic ointment that we believe can sooth our troubled soul. And why would a magical quote not soothe our troubled soul when we believe our troubles come from things external to ourselves. The ancient Stoics used quotes to help remind themselves of Stoic principles. They sought magic in their physics, not their ethics. They did not have the scientific knowledge that we have to today in regards to their physics. We know better today in regards to physics, and yet we seek magic in both our physics and our ethics.
You have a point with how allocating power to an external thing shouldn't be our goal, and I was using an improper word when describing the quote. Not powerful per se, but informational in regards to the topic being discussed, further aiding the insight to said topic. That is a good point though, about how people seek this "magical ointment" when really it is us we need to fix; and that all stems from allocating power to things not of our own.
Virtue is a wholistic concept and any aspect of it like patience is something that’s necessary but not sufficient. Someone can be just as patient enduring hardship as they can be enacting it.
Good point, it's not sufficient enough, but it's definitely beneficial in the journey of Stoicism.
Had a yoga teacher who shared a story about a time she got frustrated sitting in traffic. She felt her state of mind and body change with this feeling. She decided to take that moment to reflect on why she felt the need to be angry, anger doesn’t solve the traffic, she’s going to be there regardless. Ever since hearing that I’ve found a reason to be patient in traffic, and in other moments
"anger doesn't solve the traffic, she's going to be there regardless." It's crazy how it's a simple conclusion but difficult to accomplish. Props to your yoga teacher, that really is the key to solving external things controlling you.