Time Doesn’t Make Everything Better...It Just Makes Them What They Are
The Daily Stoic25 Loka 2018

Time Doesn’t Make Everything Better...It Just Makes Them What They Are

When we get dumped or we fail or we lose someone, we often hear that “Time heals all wounds” or some such remark, all of it in consolation. Obviously this is meant well, but it’s also frustrating--if only because it’s trite...and way too simple.

As Rilke wrote, “Time does not ‘console’ as people say superficially; at best it puts things in their place and it creates order.” There is a Zen story about a man whose horse ran away. People said it was bad luck. Then the horse came back, which people thought was good luck, and then his son broke his leg while falling off it and people thought that was bad luck come round again. But because his leg was broken, the man’s son was saved from fighting and dying in a war, and the cycle went on and on.

Time doesn’t make things better or worse, it simply makes them what they are. That’s why the Stoics talk about not rushing to judgment about anything, about waiting and seeing. Because we don’t know. Just giving something time isn’t automatically going to make it better--but it does at least give things a chance to shake out, for us to see the full picture. If there is one aphorism about time that we CAN rely on, that the Stoics would agree with, it's that 'time will tell.'

That’s the moral of the Zen story too. Trying to label things as good luck or bad luck is shortsighted. It assumes that all the facts have been entered into evidence. It’s better to hold off on forming an opinion, because fate is constantly unfolding around us, and today’s bad luck may very well be setting up tomorrow’s good luck (and vice versa).

Time isn’t a panacea, but it is a form of truth. So watch for it. Time will, in fact, tell.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(2882)

BONUS | 3 Practices to Improve Your Life In a Week

BONUS | 3 Practices to Improve Your Life In a Week

What if it only took five minutes each morning to feel more in control of your life? In this conversation, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee shares the three daily questions he uses to stay grounded in alignment,...

26 Helmi 10min

It Picks You Up. It Puts You Down. A Hundred Times A Day. | Cultivate Indifference

It Picks You Up. It Puts You Down. A Hundred Times A Day. | Cultivate Indifference

Is this what we’re here for? To be the passions’ slave? To be the plaything of emotions and impulses? It can’t be!📓 Pick up a copy of The Daily Stoic Journal: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on Th...

26 Helmi 7min

You Can’t Join Them

You Can’t Join Them

People are the way they are. They will always be this way. We don’t control that. 👉 Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listenin...

25 Helmi 1min

Lincoln’s Secret Weapon (It Wasn’t Power)

Lincoln’s Secret Weapon (It Wasn’t Power)

How do you hold a country together when it’s tearing itself apart? In this episode, Ryan sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to talk about Abraham Lincoln’s self-educa...

25 Helmi 47min

This is The Math That Losers Do | What Virtue Is This Moment Asking of You?

This is The Math That Losers Do | What Virtue Is This Moment Asking of You?

The past is gone, and no amount of calculation will bring it back or make it fair. What we do have is agency right now.🎥 Watch the video of today's episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1zgK...

24 Helmi 10min

This is How You Win the Day | Circumstances Have No Care For Our Feelings

This is How You Win the Day | Circumstances Have No Care For Our Feelings

We have a duty. Our nature—justice—demands something from us. It demands that we get up, get after it, and wear ourselves down doing it.📘 Grab a copy of The Daily Stoic here: https://store.dailystoic...

23 Helmi 8min

Simple Stoic Rules That Actually Change Your Life

Simple Stoic Rules That Actually Change Your Life

Life is a lot. It moves fast. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by what to do, what not to do, and whether you’re even focusing on the right things. In today’s episode, Ryan shares simple Stoic rules to l...

22 Helmi 18min

The Case for History (Before It Repeats Itself) | Kenny Curtis

The Case for History (Before It Repeats Itself) | Kenny Curtis

If you think history is boring, irrelevant, or just not your "thing", this episode is for you. In today’s episode, Ryan sits down with Kenny Curtis, host of the new podcast History Snacks, to make the...

21 Helmi 28min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
rss-rahamania
pomojen-suusta
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
juristipodi
rss-myyntikoulu
rss-draivi
herrasmieshakkerit
rahapuhetta
sijoitusovi-podcast
rss-lahtijat
rss-seuraava-potilas
bakkari-tarinoita-tapahtumien-takahuoneista
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-startup-ministerio
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-turha-edes-yrittaa