Today's Tao: Here endeth the Tao. Here begins the Tao.  From The Daily Stoic:    When I get upset, my calmness is still there, waiting for me to find it again.  It's up to me to let go of my anger, my sorrow, my anxiety and rediscover it.  From Eric Hoffer, XVII The Practical Men of Action Practical Men of Action solidify the dynamic changes of the revolutionary phase of the Movement into a new power structure. It shifts from changing the status quo into the status quo.  Their job is to perpetuate the gains won by the Fanatics and create the Utopia promised by the Men of Words.  (The True Believer, XVI-114)

Today's Tao: From The Daily Stoic:    “Of all the things that are, some are good, others bad, and yet others indifferent. The good are virtues and all that share in them; the bad are the vices and all that indulge them; the indifferent lie in between virtue and vice and include wealth, health , life, death, pleasure, and pain.”—Epictetus, Discourses, 2.19.12b–13 Many things are beyond our control. Some things are within our control. Of those things, some are important and some are unimportant.  I must learn to distinguish between the two and become indifferent to those things which, while under my control are not worth my mental energy, my attention, or my care.  The more I can place into the category of indifferents, the more I can focus on what matters.  (See anaphora below.)  From Eric Hoffer, XVII The Practical Men of Action A Movement which will likely last is one which is lead by the succession of Men of Words ->  Fanatics -> Practical Men of Action.  A Mov

Today's Tao: After a bitter quarrel, some resentment remains. What can be done about this? The wise keep their half of the bargain But do not exact their due. Virtuous people perform their part, But those without Virtue require others to fulfill their obligations. The Tao of heaven is impartial. It remains with those who are good. From The Daily Stoic:    “Another has done me wrong? Let him see to it. He has his own tendencies, and his own affairs. What I have now is what the common nature has willed, and what I endeavor to accomplish now is what my nature wills.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.25 Getting pissed off on occasion is natural. When someone undermines me or my plans, intentionally or accidentally, or hurts my feelings or those of someone I care for, it's the easiest thing in the world to leap from calm to mad.  What happens next is telling. Do I harangue them, orally or in an email? When I have, I've almost always regretted it later. Act in haste; repent at lei

Today's Tao: Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water. Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better; It has no equal. The weak can overcome the strong; The supple can overcome the stiff. Under heaven everyone knows this, Yet no one puts it into practice. Therefore the sage says:      He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people           is fit to rule them.      He who takes upon himself the country's disasters deserves           to be king of the universe. The truth often seems paradoxical. From The Daily Stoic:    “Keep a list before your mind of those who burned with anger and resentment about something, of even the most renowned for success, misfortune, evil deeds, or any special distinction. Then ask yourself, how did that work out? Smoke and dust, the stuff of simple myth trying to be legend . . .”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.27 The prince and the pauper share the same earth in death.   "Simple myth trying to be legend&q

Today's Tao: Who has more than enough and gives it to the world?  Only the wise. From The Daily Stoic:    “Keep in mind that it isn’t the one who has it in for you and takes a swipe that harms you, but rather the harm comes from your own belief about the abuse. So when someone arouses your anger , know that it’s really your own opinion fueling it. Instead, make it your first response not to be carried away by such impressions, for with time and distance self-mastery is more easily achieved.”—Epictetus, Enchiridion, 20 Most situations are not objectively bad. Lost $100k in the stock market? It's not the same thing to a person with $200k as it is to someone with $1B. Did a coworker say something mean? It's not the same today as it will be when you look back on it in 15 years.  Our reactions make up our world.  From Eric Hoffer, PART 4 Beginning and End:   The Fanatics  Men of Words set the stage, set in motion the beginning of the turn, but they cannot set the flam

Today's Tao: We are born gentle and weak, but at death are stiff and hard.  Green plants are tender and filled with sap.  At their death they are withered and dry.  Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.  The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.  Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.  A tree that is unbending is easily broken.  The hard and strong will fall.  The soft and weak will overcome. From The Daily Stoic:    “You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.38 Situations don't care. Circumstances cannot react to my ire and outrage. They are the definition of "that which is not up to us."  If I cultivate virtue and find my right path, yielding to inevitable things and forming my actions according to reality, I can free myself from frustration.  Follow the Tao: do not resist the forces of fate but bend with suppleness and overcome.  From Eric Hoffe

Today's Tao: Why are the people starving?  Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes.  Therefore the people are starving.  Why are the people rebellious?  Because the rulers interfere too much.  Therefore the people are rebellious.  Why do the people think so little of death?  Because the rulers demand too much of life.  Therefore the people take death lightly.  Having little to live on, they know better than to value life too highly. From The Daily Stoic:    “Cato practiced the kind of public speech capable of moving the masses, believing proper political philosophy takes care like any great city to maintain the warlike element. But he was never seen practicing in front of others, and no one ever heard him rehearse a speech. When he was told that people blamed him for his silence, he replied, ‘Better they not blame my life. I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.’”—Plutarch, Cato the Younger, 4 This reminds me of one of my favorite sayings

Today's Tao: If people are not afraid to die,  It is of no avail to threaten them with death. From The Daily Stoic:    “Remember that it’s not only the desire for wealth and position that debases and subjugates us, but also the desire for peace, leisure, travel, and learning. It doesn’t matter what the external thing is, the value we place on it subjugates us to another . . . where our heart is set, there our impediment lies.”—Epictetus, Discourses, 4.4.1– 2; Wanting something isn't a problem. Yearning for something is.  What I want so desperately controls me. Want less.  From Eric Hoffer, PART 4 Beginning and End:   Men of Words  The intellectuals prepare the way, criticizing and mocking the current system. Without their undermining the present, the Great Leader would never have had a platform from which to lead. He'd never have joined the Movement in the first place.  (The True Believer, XV-107)

My son died 8 years ago. It's a part of my identity, generally only brought up twice a year (around his birthday and the anniversary of his death).  One of the the reasons I returned  to my studies was to help me deal with his loss.  Tao helps me remember I must try to find the right path through life. This includes the proper, natural dealing with loss.  Stoicism helps me understand life is tenuous and to accept things out of my control. It reminds me that countless people have dealt with this loss and worse and survived. If they can, I can.  What happened to my son is beyond my control. I can only control my reaction to it.  It helps and it doesn't.  I know I need to focus on continuing to live and on continuing to give my family what they deserve from me, despite my sadness. That I hurt makes no difference in my obligations to them.  Left to instincts, to impulses, it would take no effort to be bitter, short, and unreasonable. Allowing myself to revel in my self-pity.  Poor

Today's Tao: Do not intrude into their homes.  Do not harass them at work. If you do not interfere, they will not weary of you.  Therefore the wise know themselves but make no show,  Have self-respect but are not arrogant.  They let go of that and choose this. From The Daily Stoic:    “This is the true athlete — the person in rigorous training against false impressions. Remain firm, you who suffer, don’t be kidnapped by your impressions! The struggle is great, the task divine— to gain mastery, freedom, happiness, and tranquility.”—Epictetus, Discourses, 2.18.27– 28 Too many thoughts. Too many feelings and perceptions. The world is constantly assailing me with input and impressions.  If I plan ahead, train with modern tools of psychology and technology, I can discipline my mind and stand a better chance of being able to control my impulses and reactions.  Then I'll have more options, more rational choices, when next I find myself in times of confusion and trouble.  From Eric Hof

Today's Tao: Knowing ignorance is strength.  Ignoring knowledge is sickness. From The Daily Stoic:    “It is quite impossible to unite happiness with a yearning for what we don’t have. Happiness has all that it wants, and resembling the well-fed, there shouldn’t be hunger or thirst.”—Epictetus, Discourses, 3.24.17 Yearning. Waiting for happiness until after I get / find / buy the next thing. How many Big Things have I waited for in my life?  I'll be happy as soon as... Graduation. The car. Marriage. The house. The new floor. The new computer. The list could go on forever, right?  It robs me of my happiness now. Time to start living for accepting happiness now instead of waiting to be happy when I get the next Big Thing.  From Eric Hoffer, PART 4 Beginning and End:   Men of Words  Men of Words — activists, artists, authors, experts, playwrights, politicians, priests, professors, pundits — all exclaim a profound pity for the poor and the downtrodden. Yet most, if not all, would

Today's Tao: My words are easy to understand and easy to perform,  Yet no one under heaven knows them or practices them.  My words have ancient beginnings.  My actions are disciplined. Because people do not understand, they have no knowledge of me.  Those that know me are few; Those that abuse me are honored.  Therefore the wise wear rough clothing and hold the jewel in their heart. From The Daily Stoic:    “If someone asks you how to write your name, would you bark out each letter? And if they get angry, would you then return the anger ? Wouldn’t you rather gently spell out each letter for them? So then, remember in life that your duties are the sum of individual acts . Pay attention to each of these as you do your duty . . . just methodically complete your task.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.26 I'm lucky. I like almost all of the people I work with. Those few, however, who get on my nerves, or who have slighted me in the past — perhaps they were slow on delivering somethin

Today's Tao: There is no greater catastrophe than underestimating the enemy.  By underestimating the enemy, I risk losing what I value. From The Daily Stoic:  Two days ago , I reminded myself to avoid temptation . . . then failed miserably yesterday. I overindulged, eating too much and eating the wrong things. I completely forgot my lesson from that morning: think of how I will feel after the momentary pleasure, after I've given in to temptation.  It's something I need to work on. A lot.  That lesson is about anticipating the real, as confirmed by innumerable repetition, consequences of my actions. Today, I turn to anticipating false consequences of imagined actions.    “Clear your mind and get a hold on yourself and, as when awakened from sleep and realizing it was only a bad dream upsetting you, wake up and see that what’s there is just like those dreams.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.31 The Stoics remind me again and again to beware foolish dread. How much stress and

Today's Tao: A good soldier is not violent.  A good fighter is not angry. A good winner is not vengeful.  A good employer is humble.  This is known as the Virtue of not striving.  This is known as the ability to deal with people.  This since ancient times has been known as the ultimate unity with heaven. From The Daily Stoic:    “For to be wise is only one thing— to fix our attention on our intelligence, which guides all things everywhere.”—Heraclitus,  Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, 9.1 Prometheus. Forethought. Choosing my life according to my intellect rather than my emotions, sensations, hormones, or neuroses.  Definitely something to work on....  From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: The Effects of Unification  Unity reinforces unity. The frustrated find themselves fulfilled by the mere fact that they are part of the Movement, part of the "change they want to see in the world" (though the 'change they want to see' would

Today's Tao: I have three treasures which I hold and keep.  The first is mercy; the second is economy; The third is daring not to be ahead of others.  From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity;  From humility comes leadership. From The Daily Stoic:  Temptation is tough. Usually, though, once I have given in and tasted the ephemeral pleasure it affords, I find it wasn't worth it.  Here's the nut: pleasure is an unworthy aim. It is fleeting, unsubstantial, and immensely forgettable.  I never find myself automatically re-feeling the pleasure I experience from giving in to temptation. If I want to remember it, I have to actively try to do so.  I often, however, find myself dwelling on the aftereffects of my weakness; the bloat or guilt or regret of it.  I need to focus on my real goal: happiness.  Happiness can last. Happiness can be sustained. Happiness can be shared with others continously.  That is a goal worth pursuing.  “Whenever you get an impression of som

Today's Tao: If you would guide the people,  you must serve with humility.  If you would lead them,  you must follow behind.  In this way when you rule,  the people will not feel oppressed;  When you stand before them,  they will not be harmed.  The whole world will support you and will not tire of you.  Because you do not compete,  You will not have competition. From The Daily Stoic:  Stoicism helps me to control my emotions. It helps me to use them to serve me rather than my serving them. Sometimes, however, I need to ask myself, "Is what I am putting myself through is worth it?" and make it a conscious choice to continue or to make a change.    “Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?”—Epictetus, Discourses, 4.3.6b–8 From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: Suspicio

Today's Tao: In the beginning those who knew the Tao did not try to enlighten others,  But kept it hidden.  Why is it so hard to rule?  Because the people are so clever.  Rulers who try to use cleverness  Cheat the country.  Those who rule without cunning  Are a blessing to the land.  These are the two alternatives.  Understanding these is Primal Virtue.  Primal Virtue goes deep and far.  It leads all things back Toward the great oneness. From The Daily Stoic:    “Our soul is sometimes a king, and sometimes a tyrant. A king, by attending to what is honorable, protects the good health of the body in its care, and gives it no base or sordid command. But an uncontrolled, desire-fueled, over-indulged soul is turned from a king into that most feared and detested thing— a tyrant.”— Seneca, Moral Letters, 114.24 The ability to handle power, to use it wisely, seems to depend on the inner strength and moral compass of the weilder. Everyone has some power. I have some in my work. I have some

Today's Tao: Deal with things before they happen.  Put things in order before there is confusion.  A tree as great as a man’s embrace springs from a small shoot;  A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth;  A journey of a thousand miles starts under one’s feet.  People usually fail when they are on the verge of success.  So give as much care to the end as to the beginning; Then there will be no failure.  Therefore the wise seek freedom from desire.  They do not collect precious things.  They learn not to hold on to ideas.  They bring people back to what they have lost.  They help the ten thousand things find their own nature,  Yet they refrain from action. From The Daily Stoic:    “There is no more stupefying thing than anger , nothing more bent on its own strength. If successful, none more arrogant, if foiled, none more insane— since it’s not driven back by weariness even in defeat, when fortune removes its adversary it turns its teeth on itself.”—Seneca, On Anger, 3

Today's Tao: Therefore those who would conquer must yield,  And those who conquer do so through yielding. Zen for today: The Gateway of Non-Duality is your original Mind. Speech and silence are relative concepts belonging to the ephemeral sphere. When nothing is said, nothing is manifested. Cf. The Gospel of John: ‘ In the beginning was the WORD .’ From The Daily Stoic:    “We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing and to not let it upset our state of mind— for things have no natural power to shape our judgments.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.52 You should see the look on people's faces when I say, "I don't care." to whatever bit of "news" is bothering them. Especially if it's political.  The power of not caring is marvelous. I actively try to cultivate this. I should try even harder. It has released me from so much stress about things that truly make no difference in my life.  From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: Action  It's

Today's Tao: Practice non-action.  Work without doing.  Taste the tasteless.  Magnify the small, increase the few.  Reward bitterness with care.  See simplicity in the complicated.  Achieve greatness in small things.  The wise do not attempt anything very big,  And thus achieve greatness.  Because the wise always confront difficulties,  They never experience them. From The Daily Stoic:  “You cry, I’m suffering severe pain! Are you then relieved from feeling it, if you bear it in an unmanly way?”—Seneca, Moral Letters, 78.17 This is the sort of thing critics of stoicism (small s) deride. "You suppress your feelings too much!"  Reread the quote. It's not about suppressing feelings. It's an choosing reactions.  Is my caterwaulling accomplishing anything? Is it achieving my goal? No? Then stop it and find a better way. Do something productive instead.  Here's the nut: this applies to emotions just as much as it does to physical pain.  It's hard to calm myself

Today's Tao: Why does everyone value the Tao so much?  Isn’t it because you find what you seek and are forgiven when you sin?  Therefore this is the greatest treasure in the universe. From The Daily Stoic:    “Many are harmed by fear itself, and many may have come to their fate while dreading fate.”—Seneca, Oedipus, 992 Fear drives me to do the things I must not do. It robs me of my agency, letting that which is not up to me control me.  Fear of fate is all too often both worse than the fate in my mind and can cause me to bring about the very thing I wish to avoid.  From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: Leadership  If the people are free to choose a different leader, the leader must follow from the front.  [The leader of a democracy] must, as someone said, find out where the people are going so that he may lead them.  If the leader can force obedience and blind faith, no such requirement exists. They can go wherever they please, knowing that coercion and propaganda will sup

Today's Tao: We will not hurt one another,  And the Virtue in each one of us refreshes everyone. From The Daily Stoic:    Being The Man in the Arena is noble, but only if I am there for the right reasons. Compulsion is not the right reason.  I must use reason to determine my reasons and make my efforts worthy.  “I don’t agree with those who plunge headlong into the middle of the flood and who, accepting a turbulent life, struggle daily in great spirit with difficult circumstances. The wise person will endure that, but won’t choose it—choosing to be at peace, rather than at war.”—Seneca, Moral Letters, 28.7 From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: Leadership  Again, it's the drive to escape themselves, the urge to be undifferentiated in a crowd and therefore blameless, that makes the Frustrated such apt followers.  The frustrated follow a leader less because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than because of their immediate feeling that he is leading t

Today's Tao: In caring for others and serving heaven,  There is nothing like using restraint. From The Daily Stoic:  “Don’t be bounced around, but submit every impulse to the claims of justice, and protect your clear conviction in every appearance.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.22 Am I controlling my thoughts and actions, my focus? Or am I pinballing around, merely reacting to every wisp of influence that comes my way?  Don’t you wish they just had a filter through which they could test the good impulses versus the bad ones?  There is such a filter. Justice. Reason. Philosophy. If there’s a central message of Stoic thought, it’s this: impulses of all kinds are going to come, and your work is to control them, like bringing a dog to heel. Put more simply: think before you act. Ask: Who is in control here? What principles are guiding me? - Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic  Again, today I see a connection between today's Tao and this morning's Stoic lesson.  From Eric Hoffer, P

Today's Tao: Therefore the wise are sharp but not cutting, Pointed but not piercing,  Straightforward but not unrestrained,  Brilliant but not blinding. From The Daily Stoic:  Nothing can upset me that I don't let upset me. I can choose to act and be calm or to re act and allow emotions to get the better of me.  Ryan's example for today's meditation is particularly apt. Think of someone facing a tough interview or press conference.  A true professional masters themself so as to always focus on the point the mean to communicate. They deliberately do not let the reporter goad them into saying something they don't want to say. They choose to sublimate their feelings to their rational will, remaining collected and focused regardless of the ways in which the interviewer provokes them.  Be that veteran of conversational battle. Make the choice to be calm, cool, and collected when emotions might otherwise derail your plans.     “Who then is invincible? The one who cannot b

Today's Tao: The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become.  The sharper men’s weapons,  The more trouble in the land.  The more ingenious and clever people are,  The more strange things happen.  The more rules and regulations,  The more thieves and robbers.  Therefore the wise one says:  “I take no action and people behave themselves.  I enjoy peace and people become honest.  I do nothing and people become rich.  I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.  From The Daily Stoic:  “When I see an anxious person, I ask myself, what do they want? For if a person wasn’t wanting something outside of their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?”—Epictetus, Discourses, 2.13.1 "Which of you, by worrying, can add one moment to his life?" Matthew 6:27 "...it’s as if we all belong to a religious cult that believes the gods of fate will only give us what we want if we sacrifice our peace of mind." Ryan Holiday, The Dail

Today's Tao: Those who know do not talk.  Those who talk do not know. From The Daily Stoic:  Ever notice how some older people are unflappable? This is because they've been there and done that. They act in situations rather than re act. They are veterans of life.  Approach each trial, bad and good, as though I have experienced this many times before and get to choose my actions. I don't  have to be mad, sad, joyful, angry, or jealous. I have the ability to remain calm and dictate both my response and the degree to which i respond.  I must choose wisely.  “Frame your thoughts like this—you are an old person, you won’t let yourself be enslaved by this any longer, no longer pulled like a puppet by every impulse, and you’ll stop complaining about your present fortune or dreading the future.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.2 From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: Leadership  Movements wither without leaders. Background circumstances alone are insufficient to create a mo

Today's Tao: Knowing harmony is constancy.  Knowing constancy is enlightenment.  It is not wise to rush about.  Trying to control the breath causes strain.  If too much energy is used, exhaustion follows. This is not the way of Tao. Whatever is contrary to Tao will not last long. From The Daily Stoic:    “Keep this thought handy when you feel a fit of rage coming on—it isn’t manly to be enraged. Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier. A real man doesn’t give way to anger and discontent, and such a person has strength, courage, and endurance— unlike the angry and complaining. The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.18.5b Anger throws me off my game, interrupting my thoughts and my plans, weakening my ability to accomplish my goals. It is a mistake.  But it is a mistake which can be conquered.  From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents: Leadership  Movements cannot be created ex nihilo ; c