The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time. Jack London
If you’re going a thousand miles an hour, if you see everything as a problem to be solved, what kind of life is that? Especially in a world where time once past can never be recovered, where everything is so fleeting, it’s a terrible shame to waste it. Ryan Holiday, Daily Stoic Email, 3/31/2022
You deserve moments like that. Moments where you watch the snow fall. Moments where you sit quietly with a book. Moments where you look out the train window, not on a conference call, not checking email, not wondering how long until you arrive in the city, but a moment to check in with yourself, to think about your life and what you want to do with it. Moments with loved ones. Moments where you are grateful, connected, happy, creative, in the zone—doing whatever it is that you do best. When the Stoics talk about stillness, they aren’t talking about some abstract notion. They are talking about maybe the most important thing you can be doing in your life. They are saying that all the “work” you are doing, all the thoughts you’re expending trying to get ahead, trying to force a breakthrough, are pointless. The real way to charge ahead is to slow down. To clear your mind. To rejoice in perfect stillness, free of the future and the past, fully present and locked in. You can do it. You deserve that. Ryan Holiday, Daily Stoic Email, 4/23/2021