Heaven Beside You…Hell Within
The Daily Stoic30 Aug 2019

Heaven Beside You…Hell Within

It’s late summer now and you might be thinking it’s time to squeeze in a last minute vacation. Or maybe you’ve been looking forward to a long-planned one to some distant location. This is just what I need, you’re thinking. I can’t wait to get out there on the beach…or the mountains…or those beautiful ruins.

We think we can escape from our job. From our problems. From our depression. From our low-grade dissatisfaction with our ordinary lives. But what do we find when we arrive to the exotic location? After we check in to the hotel or the Airbnb? We find, after the rush wears off, that we don’t feel any different. We brought ourselves with us…the true source of our unhappiness.

Seneca was an avid traveler who saw how often his fellow tourists were in denial, how they foolishly thought a change of scenery could exempt them from the real inner-work they needed to do. He liked to quote Epicurus who said that “every man flees himself.” We can imagine Seneca enjoying the lyric from a song by Alice in Chains: heaven beside you…hell within.

That’s why vacations often disappoint. Because as beautiful as they are, as much as we design them for relaxation, they are incapable of overriding our anxiety and our dysfunction. If our soul is tense, no amount of massages will relax it. If our mind is chaos, no amount of time in the water will order it. If our life is a mess, eventually we’ll have to return to it–and all the tours and long dinners will evaporate it in a minute.

If you want to be happy, if you want to relax, look inward. Do the work. Not only will you be happier at home, but you’ll enjoy your time on the road more too.


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

Episoder(2914)

What Can You Notice?

What Can You Notice?

There is beauty and peace in noticing. The world is filled with things to see and hear.📚 Books Mentioned: Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton👉 SPECIAL OFFER | Go to dai...

11 Mar 3min

The Day Control Was Taken From Us

The Day Control Was Taken From Us

Most people remember exactly where they were the week of March 11, 2020. Life suddenly stopped. The world went quiet. And for a brief moment, everything about our routines, priorities, and pace of lif...

11 Mar 37min

Have You Lost The Beat, Tune, or Rhythm? | Think About It From The Other Person's Perspective

Have You Lost The Beat, Tune, or Rhythm? | Think About It From The Other Person's Perspective

You will get knocked off course. You will fall off the wagon. You will get out of sorts. That's unavoidable. What matters is how quickly you return.SPECIAL OFFER | Go to dailystoic.com/spring and ente...

10 Mar 10min

They Should Have What They Want

They Should Have What They Want

We should think about where we have made our happiness conditional on this or that achievement, on this or that identity which lies outside our control.SPECIAL OFFER exclusively for podcast listeners ...

9 Mar 7min

Jordan Klepper's Reading List (From Ryan Holiday)

Jordan Klepper's Reading List (From Ryan Holiday)

After their conversation for The Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan gave Jordan Klepper, comedian, writer, and correspondent on The Daily Show, a few book recommendations at The Painted Porch.Follow Jordan on ...

8 Mar 12min

The Complete Stoic Playbook To MASTER Your Emotions

The Complete Stoic Playbook To MASTER Your Emotions

Do your emotions ever get the best of you? Someone says one thing and it ruins your whole day. A small frustration turns into a big deal. Travel anxiety spirals. Jealousy or irritation shows up before...

7 Mar 30min

Will You Face This Truth?

Will You Face This Truth?

Even though we can’t control time or slow it down, even though we can’t control external forces and external events—we can control ourselves, so we can control how we use our time. SPECIAL OFFER exclu...

6 Mar 2min

Jordan Klepper: How Mob Thinking Takes Over | PT. 2

Jordan Klepper: How Mob Thinking Takes Over | PT. 2

When does belonging start to matter more than being right? In Part 2 of Ryan’s conversation with Jordan Klepper, they dive into how mob thinking takes over, how cultural permission shifts what feels a...

6 Mar 41min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
utbytte
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
liberal-halvtime
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
lederpodden
rss-politisk-preik
okonomiamatorene
rss-markedspuls-2