This Is the Most Powerful Force on Earth

Over and over again, the Stoics remind us how weak we are compared to the force of nature and the whims of nature. Why get angry at the world, Marcus asks—quoting Euripedes—as if the world would notice? Seneca pokes fun at Claudius and his absurd delusion to immortalize himself. His impotent declaration of war against the sea and command to his soldiers to attack the waves with their swords. ***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanholidayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday/Facebook: http://facebook.com/ryanholidayYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good 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. This is the most powerful force on earth. Over and over again, the Stoics remind us how weak we are compared to the force of nature and the whims of nature. "Why get angry at the world?" Marcus asks, quoting Euripides, "as if the world would notice." Seneca pokes fun at Claudius and his absurd delusion to immortalize himself, his impotent

• 0:51Ryan Holiday?

  declaration of war against the sea, and his command to his soldiers to attack the waves with their swords. "Nature exerts her own power," as Seneca writes in his letters, "and makes her presence known even to the strongest. It doesn't matter what you think, doesn't matter what you say, it doesn't matter how well-laid your plans are, or how powerful you become. Nature is more powerful. She put Alexander and his mule driver in the same ground, and the end, as Marcus said, she will humble you too. You may feel powerful, you may be young and in peak physical shape, you may buy into that Silicon Valley techno-optimism about radical life extension, you may be crammed in a big city where nature's exertions are out of sight, out of mind, you may think your work is going to mean your immortality,

• 1:36Ryan Holiday?

  but it won't. Nothing ever will." Seneca would have loved the photo that you may have seen online of a tree trunk swallowing a tombstone. Nature is an undefeated, unstoppable force. We will never come close to overpowering her. She is not only breaking down our physical bodies with each passing day, but when we breathe our last, she will devour even our memories and our monuments. Human life is fragile and fleeting, and the world is a merciless series of changes and extinctions. We are born to perish. "How does the earth find room for all the bodies buried in it since the beginning of time?" Marcus Aurelius asked, and then he answered, "Through change and decomposition, absorbed into the logos

• 2:18Ryan Holiday?

  from which all things spring, and so make room for new arrivals." Accept that. Live well while you can.

• 2:27Ryan Holiday?

  Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. If you could leave us a review in iTunes, it helps a great deal. And of course, if you know anyone who would benefit from these messages, please spread the word. Thanks.