We All Must Go Into The Wilderness

Seneca was exiled once in AD 41 and then again from Nero’s service at the end of his career. Epictetus was exiled in Nicopolis, Greece by the Emperor Domitian. Publius Rutilius Rufus, the Roman tax official who was convicted on false charges, was exiled to Asia. Stoicism and exile seems to go hand in hand. Winston Churchill, who himself spent about 10 years in political exile after WWI, once wrote that:“Every prophet has to come from civilization, but every prophet has to go into the wilderness. He must have a strong impression of a complex society and all that it has to give, and then he must serve periods of isolation and meditation. This is the process by which psychic dynamite is made.”The period of difficulty and loneliness and loss that Seneca and Epictetus went through—this was not simply some bad period in their life. No, it was a formative, soul-strengthening, priority-clarifying experience that made them who they were. Publius Rutilius Rufus not only wasn’t bitter about the slanderous accusations and the trumped up political attack he was a victim of, he chose Asia as his exile—where he could go back to be with the citizens who actually appreciated his honesty and hard work. It was an awful experience, to be sure, but he accepted it with cheerful Stoicism. Psychic dynamite is not just handed to us. We aren’t born resilient or with confidence. We have to earn it. We have to make it. And that is only possible in difficult circumstances, it can only be found in the wilderness, where we are alone, where we are forced to adapt and adjust to circumstances outside our control. It won’t be fun, but it is essential. See 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. We must all go into the wilderness. Seneca was exiled once in AD 41, and then again from Nero's service at the end of his career. Epictetus was exiled to Greece by the Emperor Domitian. Publius Rutilius Rufus, the Roman tax official who was convicted on false

• 0:48Ryan Holiday?

  charges, was exiled to Asia. Stoicism in exile seems to go hand in hand. Winston Churchill, who himself spent about 10 years in political exile after World War I, once wrote that "every prophet has to come from civilization, but every prophet has to go into the wilderness." He must have made a strong impression of a complex society and all that it has to give, and then he must serve periods of isolation and meditation. This is the process by which psychic dynamite is made. The period of difficulty and loneliness and loss that Seneca and Epictetus went through, this was not simply some bad period in their life. No, it was a formative,

• 1:32Ryan Holiday?

  soul-strengthening, priority-clearing experience that made them who they are. Publius Rutilius Rufus was not only not bitter about the slanderous accusations and the trumped-up political attack he was a victim of, he chose Asia as his exile, where he could go back to be with the citizens who actually appreciated his honesty and hard work. It was an awful experience, to be sure, but he accepted it with cheerful Stoicism. Psychic dynamite is not just handed to us. We aren't born resilient or with confidence. We have to earn it. We have to make it. And that is only possible in difficult circumstances. It can only be found in the wilderness, where we are alone, where we are forced to adapt

• 2:16Ryan Holiday?

  and adjust to circumstances outside of our control. It won't be fun, but it is essential.

• 2:24Ryan Holiday?

  In exciting news, we now have an obstacle is the way pendant. If you want to carry this idea with you everywhere you go, it's a necklace you can wear. It says the obstacle is the way in the front. It has a mountain path carved through the steep mountain up to the top. And on the back, it has that quote from Marcus Aurelius, "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." You can check it out at dailystoic.com/store.