Will You See What Everyone Else Missed?

0:00I'm recording this on a Monday, and Monday is our grocery store day in our family. I usually pick my kids up from school and we go over to Whole Foods, get all our groceries for the week. Although here very shortly, we're going to go over there to get our Thanksgiving turkey because they've got a bunch of great options. Turkeys start at$1.49 a pound if you have Prime with organic birds at$2.99 a pound. And they only carry no antibiotic ever turkeys that will bring quality to your table at a great price. Whole Foods has great everyday prices on all your Thanksgiving essentials, whether you celebrate with a massive family or just a few close friends.

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1:40Will you see what everyone else missed? One emperor had him in his court and ignored him completely. Another was curious enough to go and listen at his feet, but hardly applied what he heard. A third was so threatened by him, he had him banished. And a fourth was so enthralled by him, he devoted his life to practicing what the man taught. It's remarkable that a single Greek slave intersected with the lives of so many Roman emperors. Yet Epictetus, whose name literally means acquired one, brushed shoulders with Nero, Domitian, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. And the one who was most influenced by him?

2:23That was the one that only met him in the pages of a book. Marcus Aurelius, who received a copy of Epictetus' lectures from his teacher, Rusticus, would quote Epictetus throughout meditations. He would reflect on Epictetus' teachings while in war camps, in the palace, in sickness, in old age. He seemed to understand what the others missed, that freedom doesn't come from power or status, but from self-mastery. That Stoicism is about freeing yourself from the desires and fears and impulses that enslave so many. And that's the challenge that Epictetus presents to us all. Will we do that? Will we really listen?

3:05Will we grapple with his teachings? Will we test them in our actual life, use them to change how we live? As Epictetus pointedly asks, if you don't learn these things and demonstrate them in practice, what did you learn them for? It's unfortunate that Epictetus isn't more widely read because when he is, he changes lives. He changed Marcus Aurelius and he can change you. And that's what we've been exploring this July here at Daily Stoic. We're calling it Epictetus Month, a deep dive into the life, the lessons, and the legacy of this incredible teacher. And if you've been curious about Epictetus, you want to know why he is your favorite philosopher's favorite philosopher, as he was for Marcus Aurelius, well, then we would love for you to join us.

3:54We're kicking it off with this course, How to Read Epictetus, A Daily Stoic Guide. If you join us before January 26th, you can do this live Q &A, and it's going to be awesome. We're going to be answering questions. We're going to be exploring together. We're going to get through Epictetus together, and you can buy a copy of the discourses in this course all together. is a great discount. All of that is available at dailystoic.com slash Epictetus. Of course, I'll link to that in today's show notes. And I'm excited to see you all there. Let's get after it.

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