The Daily Stoic22 Maalis 2019

It Smells Like...Life

The German poet Friedrich Schiller supposedly liked to write with a drawer filled with rotting apples tucked into his desk. The smell was overpowering, but he couldn’t write without it. Apparently, it got the words flowing.

How could that possibly be the case? Maybe it was just a weird quirk or a fetish. Maybe it was a weird part of his writing routine (more on those here). Or maybe, the proximity to decay was an inspiring metaphor, a sort of aromatic memento mori.

Marcus Aurelius once wrote a strange meditation along those lines:

The stench of decay. Rotting meat in a bag.

Look at it clearly. If you can.

Life is that stench, he was saying. We are the rotten meat in a skin bag. From the second we’re born, time starts ticking towards our expiration date. A lot of people want to turn away from that. They want to pretend it’s not real. We’ve gotten very good over the millennia at coming up with ways to help us pretend and to turn away. It’s why so many people are unproductive—they think they can afford to be, because they’re in denial of their mortality and the fact that life is rot, rot, rotting away as they sit there dicking around.

Maybe that’s what the awful smell of fermenting apples did for Schiller. We’ll never really know, but it’s a powerful reminder for us this morning, nonetheless.

Memento mori. Tempus fugit.

Grab it while it’s here.

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

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(3060)

This Is How You Change | What Is Our Duty To Society?

Change is hard but it doesn’t mean you have to be hard on yourself.📚 Books Mentioned: In My Time Of Dying 👉 The Daily Stoic Habits for Success, Habits for Happiness course is a six-week challenge de...

21 Heinä 0s

The Wealthiest Person is a Pauper | Practice Gentleness Instead of Anger

The Stoics understood that the wealthiest person can still be a pauper—poor in peace, poor in contentment, poor in perspective.📚 The Daily Stoic Journal: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on The Art...

20 Heinä 7min

6 Stoic Rules To Beat Ego

You don’t need to be an egotistical asshole to be successful. History is filled with powerful people whose pride ultimately destroyed them, from Caligula and Nero to Xerxes and Mussolini.The Stoics be...

19 Heinä 0s

The Fall Of The Roman Republic Was A Warning | Barry Strauss

What destroyed the Roman Republic was not one man or one moment, but a slow collapse of trust, duty, and shared values. In this episode, Ryan and ancient historian Barry Strauss discuss the broken civ...

18 Heinä 1h 4min

This Will Define Your Legacy | Forgive Them Because They Don't Know

Discipline, as a virtue, is related to the other virtues. By controlling our urges or wants or lifestyle, we’re actually in a better position to be courageous or just.📚 Discipline is Destiny by Ryan ...

17 Heinä 8min

You Will Need This to Push Through | Is AI Making Us Stupid?

Discipline, in this way, isn’t just about action; it’s about control. Control over our impulses, our desires, and even our most deeply ingrained habits.👉 The Daily Stoic Habits for Success, Habits fo...

16 Heinä 20min

This is Why We Have Limits

Marcus Aurelius was checked by philosophy, but if he hadn’t been, he could have easily been a Nero or a Caligula. The American Founders knew this well. 🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to...

15 Heinä 1min

12 Stoic Lessons from The Odyssey

With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey hitting theaters this week, now is the perfect time to hear the Stoic lessons hidden within this ancient story. In this episode, Ryan travels through Greece and It...

15 Heinä 27min