(독서) Daily Stoic-9월7일 OUR HIDDEN POWER

"You can bind up my leg, but not even Zeus has the power to break my freedom of choice."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.1.23 (당신은 내 다리를 묶을 수 있지만 제우스조차도 내 선택의 자유를 꺾을 힘은 없다."-에픽테토스, 담화, 1.1.23)   It was said that Epictetus walked with a permanent limp as a result of being chained up as a slave. Two thousand years later, James Stockdale also had his legs chained in irons (and his arms bound behind his back and pulled from the ceiling, repeatedly wrenching them from their sockets). Future senator John McCain was in that same prison, subjected to much of the same abuse. Because his father was famous, McCain was repeatedly offered by his captors a chance to abandon his men and be sent home early. He too held tightly to his freedom of choice, declining to submit to that temptation even though it meant a loss of the physical freedom he must have ached for.   None of these men broke. No one could make them sacrifice their ...

"Remember, then, if you deem what is by nature slavish to be free, and what is not your own to be yours, you will be shackled and miserable, blaming both gods and other people. But if you deem as your own only what is yours, and what belongs to others as truly not yours, then no one will ever be able to coerce or to stop you, you will find no one to blame or accuse, you will do nothing against your will, you will have no enemy, no one will harm you, because no harm can affect you."-EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 1.3 (“기억하세요. 본래 노예 상태인 것을 자유롭다고 여기거나, 내 것이 아닌 것을 내 것이라 여긴다면, 당신은 신과 사람들을 탓하며 고통 속에 살게 될 겁니다. 하지만 내 것이라고 할 수 있는 것만 내 것이라고 생각하고, 다른 사람의 것은 내 것이 아니라고 여긴다면, 누구도 당신을 억누르거나 막을 수 없을 겁니다. 그때는 원망할 사람도 없고, 불만을 가질 일도 없으며, 원하지 않는 일을 하지 않게 될 것입니다. 더 이상 적도 없고, 누구도 당신에게 해를 끼칠 수 없습니다. 왜냐하면 어떤 해도 당신에게 미치지 못할 것이기 때문입니다.” - 에픽테토스, 『수첩』 1.3)   After Captain James Stockdale was shot down over Vietnam, he endured seven and a half years in various prison camps. He was subjected to brutal torture but always struggled to resist. Once, when his captors intended to force him to appear in a propaganda video, he purposely and severely injured himself to make that impossible.   When Stockdale's plane was hit, he told himself that he was "entering the world of Epictetus." He didn't mean that he was attending a philosophy seminar. He knew what he was to face when he crash- landed. He knew it wouldn't be easy ...

"I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent- no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you."-SENECA, ON PROVIDENCE, 4.3 ("당신을 불운하다고 판단하는 이유는 당신이 결코 불행을 겪어본 적이 없기 때문입니다. 당신은 인생을 살아오면서 맞서 싸울 상대를 한 번도 마주한 적이 없으며, 당신이 무엇을 할 수 있는지 아무도 알 수 없고, 심지어 당신조차도 알 수 없습니다." - 세네카, 'Providence 4.3')   Most people who have gone through difficult periods in their life come to later wear those experiences as badges of honor. “Those were the days," they might say, even though now they live in much better circumstances. "To be young and hungry again," another might say wistfully. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me," or "I wouldn't change a thing about it." As tough as those periods were, they were ultimately formative experiences. They made those people who they are.   There's another benefit of so-called misfortune. Having experienced and survived it, we walk away with a better understanding of our own capacity and inner strength. Passing a trial by fire is empowering because you...

"We must undergo a hard winter training and not rush into things for which we haven't prepared."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.2.32 ("우리는 혹독한 겨울 훈련을 거쳐야 하며, 준비되지 않은 일을 성급하게 해서는 안 된다." - 에픽테토스, 《담론》 1.2.32)   Before the advent of modern warfare, armies typically disbanded during the winter. War was not the total war as we understand it today, but more like a series of raids punctuated by the rare decisive battle.   When Epictetus says we ought to go through "hard winter training" the Greek word is cheimaskêsai-he was disputing the notion that there is such a thing as part-time soldiering (or part-time anything for that matter). In order to achieve victory, one must dedicate every second and every resource into preparation and training. LeBron James doesn't take a summer break-he uses it to work on other aspects of his game. The U.S. military trains its soldiers day and night when not at war, in preparation for when they have to go to war; when they do go to war, they fight until it's over.   The same is true for us. We can't do this life thing halfheartedly. There's no time off. There aren't even weekends. We are always preparing for what life might throw at us-and ...

"Men, the philosopher's lecture-hall is a hospital-you shouldn't walk out of it feeling pleasure, but pain, for you aren't well when you enter it."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.23.30 ("여러분, 철학자의 강의실은 병원입니다. 여러분이 그곳을 나설 때 쾌감을 느끼는 것이 아니라, 고통을 느껴야 합니다. 왜냐하면 여러분은 그곳에 들어올 때 이미 건강하지 않기 때문입니다." - 에픽테토스, 《담화집》, 3.23.30)   Have you ever been to physical therapy or rehab? No matter what the name implies or how many people you see lying about, getting massages, it's not a fun place to be. It turns out that healing hurts. The trained experts know exactly where to exert pressure and what to subject to stress so that they can strengthen where the patient is weak and help stimulate the areas that have atrophied.   Stoic philosophy is a lot like that. Some observations or exercises will touch one of your pressure points. It's nothing personal. It's supposed to hurt. That's how you'll ...