@pt9373

2 weeks ago

The words he carved "Memento Mori" roughly means "remember you will die". It's been used by many famous people throughout history as not only a coping mechanism but it can also humble yourself in a way. You just got hired? You just got into Harvard? You just got nomiated for a nobel prize? Memento Mori, you can't take anything with you. It pales in comparison to the idea of eternity. How many people have come before you and had the same honors? And where are they now? They're dead just like you will be. Marcus Aurelius said this practice of saying to the good things and the bad things in life, that you will die, is a reminder that helps you accept the good things without arrogance and to let the bad things go with indifference. Your plane is delayed, you're stressed, you're tired, you're hungry, you're cynical, you say to yourself "Memento Mori" I'm going to die. What does any of this mean? Why am I taking any of it so seriously? Why am I letting it get to me? What's three hours here or three hours there? Remember you're going to die. What you do control is whether you waste time getting upset by something. Whether you waste time taking it personally, whether you're the best in the world at what you do, or you're an unpaid intern, whether your work is being beloved by the critics or savaged by the critics, whether you have all the money you need, or you can barely get by. Memento Mori, remember I will die. None of this matters in light of that. Marcus Aurelius once said "You could leave earth right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think." This is a key idea for stoicism in which Marcus Aurelius is considered the "Emperor of Stoicism". There's been many famous stoics throughout history: Zeno (founded stoic school around 300 BC) Marcus Aurelius (the last leader of the stoic school, while also being the Emperor of Rome) George Washington Theodore Roosevelt Pete Carroll Arnold Schwarzenegger Ryan Holiday (author of The Obsticle is the Way. See more below) New England Patriots who funny enough gives some credit to their teams connection to them reading the above mentioned book by Ryan Holiday. Many more examples of people you've heard of studying stoicism and practicing it in their daily lives if you do some research. I'll end this with a recommendation to check out one of, if not the greatest philosophical texts ever written. "Marcus Aurelius' Meditations". Which was written as a series of daily assertations, Meditations is an ensemble of stoic maxims that the Emperor lived by during his reign. The inspiration for his journals came from Epicetetus' Discourses, which heavily influenced Marcus Aurelius as he studied philosophy in his formative years. Stay Blessed. Sources, roughly: Thecollector, Maurcus Aurelius' Meditations, Daily Stoic youtube, and myself.

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