(독서) Daily Stoic-11월16일 HOPE AND FEAR ARE THE SAME

"Meditate often on the swiftness with which all that exists and is coming into being is swept by us and carried away. For substance is like a river's unending flow, its activities continually changing and causes infinitely shifting so that almost nothing at all stands still."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.23 (“모든 존재와 생성되고 있는 것들이 얼마나 빠르게 우리를 지나가고 사라지는지를 자주 명상하십시오. 실체는 마치 끝없이 흐르는 강물과 같으며, 그 활동은 끊임없이 변화하고 원인들은 무한히 이동하기 때문에 거의 아무것도 고정되어 있지 않습니다.”-마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록, 5.23) Marcus borrows this wonderful metaphor from Heraclitus, who said, "No man steps in the same river twice." Because the river has changed, and so has the man. Life is in a constant state of change. And so are we. To get upset by things is to wrongly assume that they will last. To kick ourselves ...

"He was sent to prison. But the observation 'he has suffered evil,' is an addition coming from you."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.8.5b-6a (“그는 감옥에 보내졌습니다. 그러나 '그는 악을 겪었다'는 관찰은 여러분이 덧붙인 것입니다."- 에픽테토스, 《담화집》, 3.8.5b–6a)   This is classic Stoic thinking, as you've gathered by now. An event itself is objective. How we describe it – that it was unfair, or it’s a great calamity, or that they did it on purpose-is on us.   Malcolm X (then Malcolm Little) went into prison a criminal, but he left as an educated, religious, and motivated man who would help in the struggle for civil rights. Did he suffer an evil? Or did he choose to make his experience a positive one?   Acceptance isn't passive. It's the first step in an active process toward self-improvement. 이것은 지금쯤 익숙해졌을 스토아 철학의 고전적인 사고 방식입니다. 사건 자체는 객관적입니다. 우리가 그것을 ‘부당하다’고 하거나 ‘큰 재난’이라고 묘사하는 것은 우리의 ...

"Don't allow yourself to be heard any longer griping about public life, not even with your own ears!"-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.9 ("더 이상 공적 생활에 대해 불평하는 소리를 들려주지 마세요, 심지어 당신 자신의 귀에라도 들리지 않도록 하세요!" - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록, 8.9)   Not only do even the most fortunate of us complain, it often seems like the more fortunate we are, the more time we have to do so. Marcus Aurelius was a reluctant chief executive-just as you might be a reluctant accountant, kid's soccer coach, or lawyer. Or perhaps you generally like your job, but you could do without a few of its attendant responsibilities. Where does that thinking get you? Nowhere, other than in a negative state of mind.   It calls to mind a motto of British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli: "Never complain, never explain." He said this because, like Marcus, he knew that the burdens of responsibility were immense. It's so easy to complain about this or that, or to try to make excuses and justifications for the things you've done. But that ...

"If we judge as good and evil only the things in the power of our own choice, then there is no room left for blaming gods or being hostile to others."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.41 (“만약 우리가 오직 우리 자신의 선택에 있는 것들만을 선악으로 판단한다면, 신을 비난하거나 다른 사람에게 적대감을 가질 여지는 남지 않게 됩니다.” - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 《명상록》 6.41)    A sign on President Harry Truman's desk read, THE BUCK STOPS HERE. As president, with more power and control than pretty much anyone else, he knew that, good or bad, there wasn't anyone he could blame for stuff other than himself. There was no one to pass the buck to. The chain ended there, in the Oval Office.   As the president of our own lives-and knowing that our powers begin and end with our reasoned choice-we would do well to internalize this same attitude. We don't control things outside that sphere, but we do control our attitudes and our responses to those events-and that's plenty. It's enough that we go into each and every day knowing that there is no ...

"When you are distressed by an external thing, it's not the thing itself that troubles you, but only your judgment of it. And you can wipe this out at a moment's notice."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.47 ("당신이 외부의 일로 인해 괴로워한다면, 당신을 괴롭히는 것은 그 일이 아니라, 오직 그 일에 대한 당신의 판단 때문입니다. 그리고 당신은 이를 즉시 지워버릴 수 있습니다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, <명상록>, 8.47)   Imagine you've dreamed of a life in politics. You're young, you're vigorous, and you've held increasingly powerful positions over the course of your career. Then at thirty-nine, you start to feel run down. Your doctors tell you that you have polio and your life will never be the same. Your career is over-right?   This is the story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, now widely regarded as one of America's greatest political leaders. He was, at middle age, diagnosed with polio after spending years preparing for and dreaming about the presidency.   It's impossible to understand FDR without understanding this disability. The "external thing" was that he was crippled-this was a literal fact-but his judgment of it was that it did not cripple his career or his personhood. Though he was certainly the victim of a then incurable disease, he wiped away-almost ...