You Must Wash Away This Dust

Life is a dirty, dusty affair. It was that way in Rome and it’s that way today. The puddle in the street splashes us. Someone else’s nasty mood sullies our demeanor. The heat makes us sweat. The news of the world makes us worried. We spill some food, we spill out some frustration. We wake up in the morning fresh and ready to go and by the end of the day, we are covered in dust. The dust of emotions, of work, of stress, of everything. The Stoics knew this and they knew also that it was critical to find ways to, as Marcus Aurelius put it, wash away the dust of earthly life. There were many ways to do this, literally and figuratively. Seneca noted that Socrates liked to play music and to play games with children to relax and have fun. Cato liked to have long meals over wine where philosophy was discussed. We also know from stories that he would frequent Roman baths, as did Seneca, where the grime of the city could be scrubbed away, but where also they might have some time to think. Even that observation from Marcus Aurelius, in its fuller context, gives us an insight. Marcus was talking about washing away the dust of earthly life by taking a moment to look up at the stars at night. And where was he “talking” about this? In the journal where he often retreated to clear his mind and his soul; where he could find solace and hold himself accountable at the same time. Stoicism and journaling—as we show in The Daily Stoic Journal—are hard to separate for that reason. The question for you, today and always, is how are you washing yourself clean and clear? Do you have a fun hobby? Do you meditate? Is it a weekly therapy session? Is it swimming laps? Maybe it’s the time after the kids go to bed when you and your spouse read and talk? Maybe it’s a morning walk or an evening prayer? It certainly can’t be just two weeks of vacation every year. It can’t just be a shower every couple days. It has to be a practice. It has to be a process. This is a dirty, dusty world we live in. And without ritual cleaning, even the purest and strongest souls will become filthy and corrupted. 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. You must wash away this dust. Life is a dirty, dusty affair. It was that way in Rome, and it's that way today. The puddle in the street splashes us. Someone else's nasty mood sulleys our demeanor. The heat makes us sweat. The news of the world makes us worried. We spill some food. We spill out some frustration. We wake up in the morning

• 0:50Ryan Holiday?

  fresh and ready to go, and by the end of the day, we are covered in dust—the dust of emotions, of work, of stress, of everything. The Stoics knew this, and they also knew that it was critical to find ways to, as Marcus Aurelius said, "wash away the dust of earthly life." There were many ways to do this, literally and figuratively. Seneca noted that Socrates liked to play music and play games with children to relax and have fun. Cato liked to have long meals over wine where philosophy was discussed. We also knew from stories that he would frequent Roman baths, as did Seneca, where the grime of the city could be scrubbed away, but also where they might have some time to think.

• 1:30Ryan Holiday?

  Even that observation from Marcus Aurelius, in its fuller context, gives us some insight. Marcus Aurelius was talking about washing away the dust of earthly life by taking a moment to look up at the stars at night. And where was he talking about this? In the journal where he so often retreated to clear his mind and soul, where he could find solace and hold himself accountable at the same time. Stoicism and journaling, as we talk about in the Daily Stoic Journal, are hard to separate for that reason. The question for you today and always is, how are you washing yourself clean and clear? Do you have a fun hobby? Do you meditate? Is there a weekly therapy session? Is it swimming

• 2:12Ryan Holiday?

  laps? Maybe it's the time after the kids go to bed when you and your spouse read and talk. Maybe it's a morning walk or an evening prayer. It certainly can't just be two weeks of vacation every year. It can't just be a shower every couple of days. Has to be a practice, has to be a process. This is a dirty, dusty world we live in. And without ritual cleaning, even the purest and strongest souls will become filthy and corrupted. If you're liking this podcast, we would love for you to subscribe. Please leave us a review on iTunes or any of your favorite podcast listening apps. It really helps and tell a friend.