(독서) Daily Stoic-9월25일 THE VULNERABILITY OF DEPENDENCE

"Being unexpected adds to the weight of a disaster, and being a surprise has never failed to increase a person's pain. For that reason, nothing should ever be unexpected by us. Our minds should be sent out in advance to all things and we shouldn't just consider the normal course of things, but what could actually happen. For is there anything in life that Fortune won't knock off its high horse if it pleases her?"-SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 91.3a-4 ("예상하지 못한 일은 재앙의 무게를 더하고, 뜻밖의 일은 사람의 고통을 증가시키는 법입니다. 그 이유로, 우리는 어떤 일도 예상하지 못해서는 안 됩니다. 우리의 마음은 미리 모든 일에 대비해야 하며, 정상적인 일의 흐름뿐만 아니라 실제로 일어날 수 있는 일에 대해 생각해야 합니다. 인생에서 운명이 마음만 먹으면 굴복시키지 않을 일이 있겠습니까?" - 세네카, 도덕 편지, 91.3a-4)     In the year 64, during the reign of Nero, a fire tore through the city of Rome. The French city of Lyons sent a large sum of money to aid the victims. The next year the citizens of Lyons were suddenly struck by a tragic fire of their own, prompting Nero to send an equal sum to its victims. As Seneca wrote about the event to a friend in one of his letters, he must have been struck by the poetry-one city helping another, only to be struck by similar disaster not long after.   How often does that happen to us? We comfort a friend during a breakup, only to be surprised when our own relationship ends. We must prepare in our minds for the possibility of extreme reversals of fate. The next time you ...

"Remember that your ruling reason becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself, so that it won't do anything contrary to its own will, even if its position is irrational. How much more unconquerable if its judgments are careful and made rationally? Therefore, the mind freed from passions is an impenetrable fortress-a person has no more secure place of refuge for all time. -MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.48 ("당신의 지배하는 이성이 스스로 결집하고 의지하게 되면, 자신의 의지에 반하는 어떤 것도 하지 않게 되어 무적이 됩니다. 설령 그 입장이 비합리적일지라도 말입니다. 그렇다면 판단이 신중하고 합리적으로 이루어진다면 얼마나 더 무적이 되겠습니까? 그러므로 마음이 감정에서 해방되면 그것은 난공불락의 요새가 됩니다. 사람에게 그보다 더 안전한 피난처는 영원히 없을 것입니다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, <명상록> 8.48)   Bruce Lee once made an interesting claim: "I fear not the man who who has practiced ten thousand kicks once," he said, "but I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times." When we repeat an action so often it becomes unconscious behavior, we can default to it without thinking.   Training in the martial arts or combat is a deeply thoughtful study of movement. We sometimes think of soldiers as automatons, but what they've actually built is a steady pattern of unconscious behaviors. Any of us can build these.   When Marcus says that a mind can get to a place where "it won't do anything contrary to its own will, even if its position is irrational," what he means is that proper training can change your default habits. Train yourself to give up anger, and you won't be angry at every ...

"Difficulties show a person's character. So when a challenge confronts you, remember that God is matching you with a younger sparring partner, as would a physical trainer. Why? Becoming an Olympian takes sweat! I think no one has a better challenge than yours, if only you would use it like an athlete would that younger sparring partner."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.24.1-2 ("어려움은 그 사람의 본성을 드러냅니다. 그러니 도전이 다가올 때, 신체 트레이너가 젊은 스파링 파트너를 붙여주듯이, 신께서 당신에게 맞는 상대를 주고 있다는 사실을 기억하세요. 왜냐하면 올림픽 선수가 되기 위해선 많은 땀을 흘려야 하기 때문입니다! 운동선수가 젊은 스파링 파트너와 함께 훈련하듯, 당신도 그 도전을 그렇게 받아들인다면, 이보다 더 좋은 기회는 없을 것입니다." - 에픽테토스, 담화, 1.24.1-2)   The Stoics loved to use metaphors from the Olympics, especially wrestling. Like us, they saw sports as a training ground to practice for the challenges one will inevitably face in the course of living. As General Douglas MacArthur once said, in words later engraved at the gymnasium at West Point:   UPON THE FIELDS OF FRIENDLY STRIFE ARE SOWN THE SEEDS THAT, UPON OTHER FIELDS, ON OTHER DAYS WILL BEAR THE FRUITS OF VICTORY.   Everyone has found themselves...

"When forced, as it seems, by circumstances into utter confusion, get a hold of yourself quickly. Don't be locked out of the rhythm any longer than necessary. You'll be able to keep the beat if you are constantly returning to it."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.11 (“상황 때문에 어쩔 수 없이 완전히 혼란스러워지면 빨리 마음을 다잡아야 합니다. 필요 이상으로 리듬을 잃지 마세요. 끊임없이 리듬으로 돌아간다면 리듬을 유지할 수 있을 것입니다."-마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상, 6.11)   We're going to get caught off guard from time to time. Not just by "black swan" type events-a terrorist attack or a financial panic-but also by minor, unexpected occurrences. Your car battery dies, your friend cancels at the last minute, you suddenly don't feel well. These situations have a way of throwing us into confusion and disarray. We've made an assumption about the world and built plans on top of that assumption. Now that the assumption has collapsed, so too might our organization or understanding.   That's perfectly OK! It happens. A line of infantrymen ...

"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.61 ("삶의 예술은 춤보다 레슬링에 더 가깝습니다. 왜냐하면 예술적인 삶은 갑작스럽고 예상치 못한 공격에 대비하고 견딜 준비가 되어 있어야 하기 때문입니다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록, 7.61)   Dancing is a popular metaphor for life. One must be limber and agile and go along with the music. One must feel and follow and flow with their partner. But anyone who has tried to do something difficult, where there is competition or an adversary, knows that the dancing metaphor is insufficient. Nobody ever gets up on stage and tries to tackle a dancer. The dancer never gets choked out by a rival.   For a wrestler, on the other hand, adversity and the unexpected are part and parcel of what they do. Their sport is a battle, just like life. They are fighting an opponent as well as their ...