210121 What I learned in my studies this morning

Today's Tao:

Those who are attached to things will suffer greatly. 

Those who save will suffer heavy losses. 

Those who are contented are never disappointed. 

Those who know when to stop do not find themselves in trouble. 

They remain forever safe.

From The Daily Stoic: 

Stoics stress the importance of daily self-reflection. Marcus Aurelius did it in his famous journals. Epictetus used the list below as his daily focus. I'm using these studies. 

Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning: 

What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion? 

What for tranquility? 

What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things. 

What, then? A rational being. 

What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions. 

How did I steer away from serenity? 

What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring? 

What did I fail to do in all these things?

—Epictetus, Discourses, 4.6.34– 35

From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents:

Imitation 

The Frustrated, the primary group in Hoffer's examination of mass movements, consist of those who are dissatisfied with who they are. They find themselves ill-fitted to life, full of self doubt, and ineffectual at, well, everything. 

The past few sections have explored their capacity for hatred. Now we move on to Imitation as a means of blurring the lines between self and society so that they can lay claim to achievements which are not their own and deflect blame from defects that are. 

The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to slough off the unwanted self and begin a new life. They try to realize this desire either by finding a new identity or by blurring and camouflaging their individual distinctness; and both these ends are reached by imitation.

... 

As to the blurring and camouflaging of the self, it is achieved solely by imitation—by becoming as like others as possible. The desire to belong is partly a desire to lose oneself. Finally, the lack of self-confidence characteristic of the frustrated also stimulates their imitativeness. The more we mistrust our judgment and luck, the more are we ready to follow the example of others.

(The True Believer, XIV-77)