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.

Kokeile Premiumia

Nauti 14 päivää ilmaiseksi

Tilaa Premium

Jaksot(2889)

Put The Suitcase Away | Try The Other Handle

We travel for work. We travel to see family. We travel to learn. As always, re-entry into our regular life, sleeping in our own bed, can require some getting used to.📓 Pick up a signed edition of The...

10 Kesä 20258min

We Must Battle These Two Vices | Solve Problems Early

We have these desires and aversions, these habits we indulge, these things we let ourselves get away with.💡 We designed The Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge: Ancient Wisdom For Modern Leaders to mirr...

9 Kesä 20259min

One Day Can Be A Whole Life | Ryan Holiday

Sometimes the best days don’t start out that way. In this episode, Ryan Holiday shares a personal story about how a seemingly ordinary, maybe even chaotic, day with his kids turned into something unex...

8 Kesä 202515min

If They Control Your Attention, They Control YOU | Chris Hayes (PT. 2)

In a world obsessed with attention, are we rewarding the worst in us? In today’s PT. 2 episode, Chris Hayes and Ryan dive deep into how virtue signaling has transformed into full-blown vice signaling ...

7 Kesä 202546min

Why Are You Surprised? | 12 Stoic Strategies on How To Stop Caring What People Think

We have to be prepared for what people will do. That isn’t to say we need to become cynical, but it is to say that we have stop fooling ourselves. 🎥 Watch Why Narcissistic Leaders Always Fail (In The...

6 Kesä 202535min

Do Not Let This Miracle Go To Waste | Ask Daily Stoic

The whole future is uncertain, Seneca reminds us. Live virtuously, of course, but also live immediately.🪙 We have a collection of items in the Daily Stoic store to help you in your own Memento Mori p...

5 Kesä 202512min

This Is Why We Do It

Cleanthes and Socrates exposed themselves to cold. Marcus Aurelius slept on a hard mattress. Seneca practiced poverty on a regular basis. Why did they do this?🎙️ Follow The Daily Stoic Podcast on Ins...

4 Kesä 20252min

If They Control Your Attention, They Control YOU | Chris Hayes (PT. 1)

What if the real problem isn’t politics, the economy, or technology, but where you’re directing your attention? Emmy-winning journalist Chris Hayes joins Ryan to reveal the sinister mechanics of moder...

4 Kesä 202539min

Kaikki yhdessä sovelluksessa

Kuuntele kaikki suosikkipodcastisi ja -äänikirjasi yhdessä paikassa.

Sinulle valikoitua sisältöä

Podme-sovelluksessa kokoat suosikkisi helposti omaan kirjastoosi. Saat meiltä myös kuuntelusuosituksia!

Jatka kuuntelua koska tahansa

Voit jatkaa siitä mihin jäit, myös offline-tilassa.

Premium

9,99 €/kk

Kaikki premium-podcastit
Ei mainoksia
Ei sitoutumista, peruuta koska tahansa

Aloita 14 päivän kokeilu

Premium

13,99 €/kk

Kaikki premium-podcastit
Ei mainoksia
Ei sitoutumista, peruuta koska tahansa
Yksi lisäkäyttäjä

Kokeile 14 päivää maksutta

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

Tarinat ja äänet, joita rakastat kuunnella

Kuuntele kaikki suosikkipodcastisi ja -äänikirjasi

Lue lisää