(독서) Daily Stoic-10월24일 THE FOUNTAIN OF GOODNESS

"People aren't in awe of your sharp mind? So be it. But you have many other qualities you can't claim to have been deprived of at birth. Display then those qualities in your own power: honesty, dignity, endurance, chastity, contentment, frugality, kindness, freedom, persistence, avoiding gossip, and magnanimity." -MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.5 (“사람들이 당신의 예리한 지성을 보고 경탄하지 않는다고요? 그렇다면 어쩔 수 없습니다. 하지만 당신이 태어날 때부터 박탈당했다고 주장할 수 없는 다른 많은 자질이 있습니다. 당신의 힘으로 그 자질들을 발휘하십시오: 정직함, 존엄성, 인내, 정결함, 만족, 절약, 친절함, 자유, 끈기, 소문을 피하는 것, 그리고 관대함입니다.” - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 『명상록』 5.5)   It's easy to blame our circumstances. One person curses that they weren't born taller, another that they're not smarter, with a different complexion, or born in a different country. It'd be hard to find a single person on this planet-from supermodels on down-who doesn't think they're deficient in at least some way. But whatever your perceived deficits are, remember that there are positive qualities that you can develop that don't depend on genetic accidents.   You have the choice to be truthful. You have the choice to be dignified. You can choose to endure. You can choose to be happy. You can choose to be chaste. You can choose to be thrifty. You can choose to be kind to others. You can choose to be free. You can persist under difficult odds. You can avoid trafficking in gossip. You can choose to be gracious.   And honestly, aren't the traits that are the result of effort and skill more impressive anyway? 우리는 쉽게 환경을 탓하곤 합니다. 어떤 사람은 ...

"So someone's good at taking down an opponent, but that doesn't make them more community-minded, or modest, or well-prepared for any circumstance, or more tolerant of the faults of others."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.52 ("누군가 상대를 제압하는 데 능숙하다고 해서 그 사람이 더 공동체 의식을 가지거나, 겸손하거나, 어떤 상황에도 준비가 잘 되어 있거나, 다른 사람들의 결점을 더 잘 참아내는 것은 아닙니다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록 7.52)   Self-improvement is a noble pursuit. Most people don't even bother. But among those who do, it's possible for vanity and superficiality to corrupt this process. Do you want six-pack abs because you are challenging yourself and committing to a difficult goal? Or is it because you want to impress people with your shirt off? Are you running that marathon because you want to test your limits or because you're running away from your problems at home?   Our will shouldn't be ...

"Such behavior! People don't want to praise their contemporaries whose lives they actually share, but hold great expectations for the praise of future generations-people they haven't met or ever will! This is akin to being upset that past generations didn't praise you."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.18 ("사람들은 자신과 함께 살아가는 동시대 사람들을 칭찬하는 것을 원치 않으면서, 아직 만나보지도 않은 미래 세대들의 칭찬을 기대합니다. 이는 마치 과거 세대가 당신을 칭찬하지 않았다고 화내는 것과 같은 것입니다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록 6.18)   Alexandria, the city in Egypt, still bears the name of its founder, Alexander the Great, some 2,300 years after he set foot there. How cool would it feel to have a city named after you for so many centuries? To know that people are still saying your name?   Here's a thought: it wouldn't be cool. Because, like Alexander, you'll be dead. You'll have no idea whether your name lasted down through the centuries. No one gets to enjoy their own legacy-by definition.   Worse, think of all the horrible things Alexander did to achieve what he did. He fought pointless wars. He had a terrible temper-even killing his best friend in a drunken fight. He was ruthless and a slave to his ambition. Is he really so admirable?  ...

"You have proof in the extent of your wanderings that you never found the art of living anywhere-not in logic, nor in wealth, fame, or in any indulgence. Nowhere. Where is it then? In doing what human nature demands. How is a person to do this? By having principles be the source of desire and action. What principles? Those to do with good and evil, indeed in the belief that there is no good for a human being except what creates justice, self-control, courage and freedom, and nothing evil except what destroys these things."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.1.(5) (“당신은 방황의 정도에서 논리나 부, 명성, 어떤 방종에서도 삶의 기술을 찾지 못했다는 증거를 가지고 있습니다. 아무데도. 그럼 어디에 있을까요? 인간의 본성이 요구하는 것을 행하는 데 있습니다. 어떻게 해야 할까요? 원칙을 욕망과 행동의 원천으로 삼는 것입니다. 어떤 원칙? 선과 악에 관한 것, 즉 정의, 자제력, 용기, 자유를 창조하는 것 외에는 인간에게 선이 없고, 이러한 것들을 파괴하는 것 외에는 악이 없다는 믿음입니다."-마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상, 8.1.(5))   What's the meaning of life? Why was I born? Most of us struggle with these questions-sometimes when we're young, sometimes not until we're older. Rarely do we find much in the way of direction. But that's simply because we miss the point. As Viktor Frankl points ...

"Since habit is such a powerful influence, and we're used to pursuing our impulses to gain and avoid outside our own choice, we should set a contrary habit against that, and where appearances are really slippery, use the counterforce of our training."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.12.6 ("습관은 강력한 영향을 미치고 있으며, 우리는 스스로의 선택 밖에서 충동을 따라 무언가를 얻거나 피하려는 데 익숙합니다. 그러므로 우리는 그에 반하는 습관을 길러야 하며, 특히 상황이 정말로 혼란스러울 때는 우리의 훈련이라는 역행하는 힘을 사용해야 합니다." -에픽테토스, 담론, 3.12.6)   When a dog is barking loudly because someone is at the door, the worst thing you can do is yell. To the dog, it's like you're barking too! When a dog is running away, it's not helpful to chase it-again, now it's like you're both running. A better option in both scenarios is to give the dog something else to do. Tell it to sit. Tell it to go to its bed or kennel. Run in the other direction. Break the pattern, interrupt the negative impulse.   The same goes for us. When a bad habit reveals itself, counteract it with a commitment to a contrary virtue. For instance, let's say you find yourself procrastinating today-don't dig in and fight it. Get up and take a walk to clear your head and reset instead. If you find yourself saying something negative or nasty, don't kick yourself. Add something positive and nice to qualify the remark.   Oppose ...