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comment by Dala
Dala  ·  1592 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How to be happy? Most people have it backwards.

    Overcoming destructive emotions doesn't mean not feeling them, it means knowing that they're there, that they make you vulnerable, that they can cause harm, etc. It means empowering you to make the right choices not because they're absent, but because you can handle their presence.

I don’t know, it seems like you have a pretty good grasp on what a Stoic is supposed to be like. This reminds me a bit of one of Marcus Aurelius’ writings (don’t have my books handy so I can’t give a verbatim quote, but here’s the essentials of what I remember) about “It’s unfortunate that this happened. No, it’s fortunate that this happened and that I remained unharmed by it. It could have been anyone, but not everyone could have remained unharmed. Does what’s happened keep you from acting justly and with self control, honesty, and all the other qualities that allow one’s nature to fulfill itself? Then remember this principle when something threatens you: the thing itself is no misfortune, to endure and prevail is great fortune.”

I am fairly certain I am missing a bunch of that passage but really, the only quote out of that book we all need right now (not really) is this:

    Waste no more time arguing what a good man is like. Be one.




user-inactivated  ·  1592 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Waste no more time arguing what a good man is like. Be one.

That's a keeper right there.