The Winds May Howl But…

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1:04Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom in everyday life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2 ,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoic.com.

1:30The winds may howl, but you could say that Stoicism seems to reemerge when the world is thrown into crisis. Whether it was during the American Revolution or Viktor Frankl following the world wars, writers and thinkers and doers throughout history have turned to the Stoics in search of answers to the problem of their day. Isn't that what we're doing here at Daily Stoic, looking for ways to deal with the craziness of our times that have included political division, unstable economies, and a global pandemic, to name just a few issues of the recent past. We asked Mike Duncan, who's done The History of Rome and Revolutions.

2:11He has this amazing book called The Storm Before the Storm, which I've raved about. We carry it at the painted porch. We asked him, why does stoicism seem to reappear when we need it most? And his answer was great. He says, anytime the world starts to feel like it's being engulfed by entropy, chaos, and noisy disunity, the mind naturally seeks out something that offers cohesion, order, and quiet unity. We get carried away by events and certainly feel our passions leading us into behavior that we might, upon reflection, regret. Stoicism, he said, offers a solid place to plant your feet and says the winds may howl, but I will not be swept away.

2:52That's a fantastic definition of the attitude the Stoic seeks to cultivate. The winds may howl, but I will not be swept away. As we head into the coming weeks where an election here in America promises an ever-swirling storm of uncertainty, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, pulled in a thousand different directions. The mob might react with anger. There might be confusion and misdirection from every corner, voices screaming for our attention, trying to pull us into the madness. might feel like what we do doesn't matter very much. But as Stoics, we have to remember one thing. We can't control the actions or opinions of others only how we choose to respond only what we do.

3:34No election, no crisis, no fleeting outrage will push us from our principles, from responding to whatever obstacles we face with virtue. The world has faced turbulence before. Stoicism has always been there to guide those who sought it. And now as history repeats itself in new and unfamiliar forms, we will once again choose to stand firm, knowing that while the storm may be relentless, we do not have to be swept away. And like we've been saying, vote, definitely vote. It's the one little thing that's up to you entirely.

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