{"id":32346,"date":"2016-10-13T00:06:16","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T07:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?page_id=32346"},"modified":"2016-10-13T03:03:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T10:03:51","slug":"marcus-aurelius","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/marcus-aurelius\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Lessons Marcus Aurelius Can Teach You"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
One of the philosophers who has influenced my thinking the most is Marcus Aurelius. He was one of the last \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good emperors\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Rome \u00e2\u20ac\u201d who genuinely cared for the well-being of his citizens.<\/p>\n
Marcus Aurelius lived in a time where death was prevalent\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and chaos was everywhere. He wrote a manual (for himself) which we now know as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Meditations.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think he ever intended to publish it to the public. He wrote it for himself\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to deal with his own internal demons.<\/p>\n
Even though he wrote these words around 2,000 years ago \u00e2\u20ac\u201d his insights still carry strong weight today.<\/p>\n
How can we apply his stoic philosophy to our everyday life? Below are some insights you can apply to your own life:<\/p>\n
1. Ignore what others are doing<\/h2>\nNYC, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do not waste what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbors. Anything that distracts you from fidelity to the Ruler within you\u00e2\u20ac\u201d means a loss of opportunity for some other task.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We have a limited time on earth. Why waste our precious energy worrying about our neighbors? Why do we care what they are doing, what they are up to, and what they think of us?<\/p>\n
What we need to do is focus on our task at hand. What is our task? Whatever is our calling on earth \u00e2\u20ac\u201d whether that means creating art, empowering others, or being a loving parent.<\/p>\n
With social media, we are addicted to what others are doing. We waste our mental energy being envious of others. We compare ourselves to them \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we feel frustrated that we aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t as successful as our peers. We look at others with fancy cars, fancy cameras, and fancy houses.<\/p>\n
What if we spent our entire life ignoring what others are doing \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and only focused on ourselves?<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
For an entire week, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use social media. Uninstall all social media apps from your phone, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t check your Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media network.<\/p>\n
Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do anything for a week that concerns others. Focus only on your task at hand.<\/p>\n
This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean to totally ignore your friends and loved ones for the rest of your life. But try this experiment for a week to devote all your time, energy, and effort to your own needs. See how less envious, jealous, and focused you will be in your own creative work.<\/p>\n
2. Reality is shaped by your opinion<\/h2>\nSF, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
There is no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153objective\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reality out there\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we shape our own reality.<\/p>\n
For example, you can be a billionaire with all the material possessions you desire, and still feel like a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153failure\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (you might compare yourself to other<\/em> billionaires who are even richer than you).<\/p>\n
You might be poor and living in a slum, but you might be supremely happy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d because your heart is full of gratittude.<\/p>\n
Marcus Aurelius tells us:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Life is but what you deem it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He also reminds us:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Life is opinion.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whenever it comes to anything in our life, it depends on our own opinion of ourselves. We deem what is good and bad in our life.<\/p>\n
We shape our own perception of the world with our thoughts. No external \u00e2\u20ac\u0153reality\u00e2\u20ac\u009d exists outside of our perceptions.<\/p>\n
The practical way you can apply this mode of thinking in your life is this: see everything in a positive light<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
For example, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say that someone talks shit about you to your face. Rather than feeling frustrated, you can tell yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that someone is talking shit about me, it means that I am not boring \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and doing something interesting.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, when people insult us, try to harm us, or criticize us \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the insult which hurts us. It is our interpretation<\/em> of what they are saying which hurts us. Marcus Aurelius tells us:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If I do not view the thing as an evil, I take no hurt.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If we interpret others\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 actions as irrelevant, how can we feel hurt?<\/p>\n
Marcus Aurelius also tells us:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Any \u00e2\u20ac\u0153injury\u00e2\u20ac\u009d we receive in life is just our opinion.<\/p>\n
One metaphor I love is this: imagine you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a boat in the middle of a lake. It is foggy and dark. You suddenly get hit by another boat, and you bump your head. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re angry and frustrated, and want to curse out the other person who just bumped into you. But then when the fog clears, you realize that the other boat was empty. Now you no longer feel angry, because you realize the other boat was empty. Realize that everyone else who tries to harm us is just an empty boat.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
For a week, interpret every action that happens to you as positive.<\/p>\n
For example, if someone insults you, think to yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How can this insult make me a stronger person?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
See every opportunity as a growth opportunity.<\/p>\n
3. Do less<\/h2>\nMelbourne, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In one of Marcus Aurelius\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 meditations to himself, he reminds himself the importance of doing less in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and cutting out the superfluous actions from his life:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIf thou wouldst know contentment, let thy deeds be few,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 said the sage. Better still limit them strictly to such as are essential<\/strong>, and to such as in a social being reason demands, and as it demands.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What are the benefits of sticking to a few actions, and just doing the essential? Marcus Aurelius tells himself\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we are happiest when we do a few things, but doing them well:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This brings the contentment that comes of doing a few things and down them well<\/strong>. Most of what we say and do is not necessary, and its omission would save both time and trouble. At every step, a man should ask himself, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIs this one of the things that are superfluous?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Unnecessary action will not ensue.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Many of our actions and words are unnecessary. By not<\/em> doing superfluous actions, we will be less stressed.<\/p>\n
We should always ask ourselves: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is this superfluous?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
We need to cut out the unnecessary things in our lives. The less superfluous actions, words, thoughts, and emotions \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the more focus we will have for what is really important to us in life. That might be time with your family, time to do your creative work, or the chance to help others.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
For a week, always ask yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is this superfluous?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d whenever making decisions.<\/p>\n
You can apply this in many different ways.<\/p>\n
For example, if someone hurts you, and you feel upset \u00e2\u20ac\u201d ask yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is this emotion superfluous?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
When it comes to social obligations\u00e2\u20ac\u201d ask yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is this social meeting superfluous?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Learn how to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and say it as often as you can.<\/p>\n
4. Death is knocking at your door<\/h2>\nNew Orleans, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
I think about death a lot. A lot of people forget the phrase: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153memento mori\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d remember, you will be dead soon.<\/p>\n
When we know that death is close, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t waste our time. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t waste our precious leisure time watching TV or other forms of passive entertainment. We rush into doing what we are passionate about, and work that is meaningful to us. We spend more time with our loved ones, and omit superfluous people and actions from our lives.<\/p>\n
Reminding ourselves of death gives us focus.<\/p>\n
Think about all the people who learn they have cancer or some other disease. Once they discover this, they drop all the shit they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like doing in life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and only focus on what is important to them.<\/p>\n
Yet we all have the ability to only do what is important to us. By meditating on death on a daily basis, we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t waste even a drop of our time.<\/p>\n
Even Marcus Aurelius would tell himself:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Very soon you will be dead; but even yet you are not single-minded.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We need to be single-minded to our life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s task.<\/p>\n
A simple exercise we can do to remind ourselves of life and death is this:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Take it that you have died today, and your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story is ended; and henceforward regard what further time may be given you as an uncovenanted surplus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whenever I go to sleep, I imagine like it is the last time I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to sleep. I consider my entire life, my day, and whether I did everything in my power to help empower those around me. I only procrastinate on things that I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind being undone if I were dead.<\/p>\n
And when I wake up the next morning, I throw my hands up in the air and tell myself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It is amazing to be alive! I wonder how I can best use today to help others.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
We all need to remind ourselves of death knocking on our door\u00e2\u20ac\u201d or else we will never have focus in our lives.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
Today, imagine like it were your last day on earth. What would you do, and what would you not<\/em> do for your day?<\/p>\n
What would you tell your loved ones? Who would you spend time with, and who would you not<\/em> spend time with?<\/p>\n
What creative act would you do? What would you not<\/em> do in your day, if you knew today was the last?<\/p>\n
Constantly meditate on this \u00e2\u20ac\u201d live everyday as if it were your last. Because one day, it will be.<\/p>\n
5. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stronger than you think<\/h2>\nSF, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
If you want to be a world-class boxer, you will have to fight difficult opponents. You will get beaten up, break a few bones, bleed, and as a result\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you will get stronger.<\/p>\n
Whenever someone tries to harm you, think of these words from Marcus Aurelius:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How lucky I am, that it has left me with no bitterness; unshaken by the present, and undismayed by the future. The thing could have happened to anyone, but not everyone would have emerged unembittered.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re tougher than you think. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t prevent others from throwing shit at you. But you can change your interpretation of the situation.<\/p>\n
Life is fucking hard. As the sages said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes to live is an act of courage.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
And let us not forget what Marcus Aurelius teaches us:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
Life isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t easy. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect it to be easy.<\/p>\n
You will get punched, bruised, and break a few bones in life (figuratively and physically).<\/p>\n
Imagine yourself like the strongest person in the world. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stronger than others. Whenever others try to harm you, imagine little arrows trying to pierce your golden armor. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a giant, and others are ants trying to harm you.<\/p>\n
Whenever harm comes your way, remind yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thank God I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so strong, this could have broken others, but it hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t broken myself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
6. You are rising for the work of humankind<\/h2>\nNYC, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
As humans, we live to help one another. No man is his own island. And the more we help others, the more we gain. It is a win-win scenario.<\/p>\n
No person would want to live on Earth if nobody else existed. Society is the glue which holds us together, and it is the reason we are alive and the reason we live.<\/p>\n
There are days where living is hard. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to get out of bed. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have motivation or inspiration.<\/p>\n
Even Marcus Aurelius (the emperor of the Roman empire) often felt like this. The meditation he gave himself to encourage himself was this:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153At day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first light have in readiness, against disinclination to leave your bed, the thought that \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI am rising for the work of man.<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Must I grumble at setting out to do what I was born for, and for the sake of which I have been brought into the world? Is this the purpose of my creations to lie here under the blankets and keep myself warm? \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcAh, but it is a great deal more pleasant!\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Was it for pleasure, then, that you were born, and not for work, not for effort?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not put on earth to feel pleasure. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist to eat delicious foods, to see exotic places, or to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfeel good.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 You exist for your fellow man and woman.<\/p>\n
What brings us true happiness in life? It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just filling ourselves with pleasure. Rather, it is helping others and doing what we were made for:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true delight is to do the things he was made for.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What were you designed for? It depends.<\/p>\n
What is your gift? It might be your ability to socialize, to make others feel loved, your skill for reading or writing, your skill for research, your skill for synthesizing information and data, your skill for making visual images, your skill for empowering others, your skill for teaching, or your skill for making the world a more beautiful place.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
Discover your gift, and figure out how you can best share it with others.<\/p>\n
If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what your gift is\u00e2\u20ac\u201d ask your friends, family, or your mom. Think about your gifts as a child, and how you can best use your personal gift to help those around you.<\/p>\n
How can you best empower humankind with your gift? Always meditate on this, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get distracted.<\/p>\n
7. Never complain<\/h2>\nSF, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is your cucumber bitter Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Why must we complain about the world?<\/p>\n
If there is someone who annoys you \u00e2\u20ac\u201d just ignore them. Unfollow them from social media, or just cut your social ties with them.<\/p>\n
Do you hate your job? Either quit your job, or figure out a way to make it less painful or miserable.<\/p>\n
We often cannot change our external situations in the world \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but we can always change our attitude towards it.<\/p>\n
And not only that, but life is all about making the best of what we have.<\/p>\n
A good meditation to think to ourselves from Marcus Aurelius is this:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What is the very best that can be said or done with the materials at your disposal?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Most of us don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have much time, energy, or money. Yet given our limited means, how can we make the best of what we have?<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
Instead of complaining about life, think of how you can best use your limited means to do your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s task.<\/p>\n
I like to call this a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraint\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d think of your limitation or constraints as an opportunity for you to be more<\/em> creative.<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say your dream is to become a great photographer. Yet your camera sucks. Think of that as a creative constraint and a fun challenge\u00e2\u20ac\u201d how can you make the best images with the crappy camera you already own?<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say your dream is to start your own business. But you have no experience, money, or time. How can you turn that into a benefit? Perhaps you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any dogma holding you back when it comes to business. Perhaps by not<\/em> having a lot of money, you can be more creative to be frugal with your business\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and create an economical business.<\/p>\n
Creativity breeds on constraints\u00e2\u20ac\u201d so harness your constraints in a positive way.<\/p>\n
8. You can live happily anywhere<\/h2>\nNew Orleans, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let it be clear to you that the pace of green fields can always be yours, in this, that or any other spot; and that nothing is any different here from what it would be either up in the hills, or down by the sea, or wherever else you will.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What causes a lot of misery for many of us is our homes, where we live, and the wish to be somewhere else.<\/p>\n
We might live in the suburbs, and wished we lived in the city. We might live in the city, and prefer living in the countryside. We live in the countryside, we might wish living at the beach. We live at the beach, we wish we lived on an island. If we lived on an island, perhaps we might prefer the convenience of living in a suburb.<\/p>\n
If you were happy with where you lived and the home you lived in \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t desire to live elsewhere, or in a bigger or better home, how much more energy, money, and attention could you have for better things in life?<\/p>\n
For example, I always get the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153grass is greener on the other side\u00e2\u20ac\u009d syndrome. I generally prefer to live in big cities.<\/p>\n
But my biggest learning lesson is that nobody is happy where they live<\/strong>. My friends in NYC wish they lived in Tokyo. My Tokyo friends wished they lived in London. My London friends wished they lived in San Francisco. And my San Francisco friends wished they lived in NYC.<\/p>\n
Rather, switch it up. Think to yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The grass is greener on my side.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Even if where you live sucks \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you can find positives in it.<\/p>\n
If you live in a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153boring\u00e2\u20ac\u009d place\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it will force you to be more creative to find interesting things to do. And it might be an opportunity for you to start something interesting.<\/p>\n
You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the master of your own destiny\u00e2\u20ac\u201d never complain where you live. Rather, reap all the benefits of the neighborhood or city or place you live in.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
Write a list of the positives of your home, your neighborhood, or city. Never think of the negatives.<\/p>\n
And likewise\u00e2\u20ac\u201d think of all the other places you would prefer to live. Then write the negatives of living in those other places (the cost of living, traffic, pollution, distance from family and friends, etc).<\/p>\n
And then seek to not complain about your home or where you live. And dedicate all of your creative energy to doing something personally-meaningful.<\/p>\n
9. Help the common good<\/h2>\nToronto, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
He who lives for himself is truly dead to others.<\/p>\n
How do you find your purpose and sense of mission in life? Simple \u00e2\u20ac\u201d think of how you can best help the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153common good.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Marcus Aurelius reminds himself:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Avoid all actions that are haphazard or purposeless; and secondly, let every action aim solely at the common good.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
To be a honorable and purposeful human being is to help others. To help others not as fortunate as us. To share our gift, our knowledge, and our resources for us. It means to keep doing good towards others, even though they may hate us. As Marcus Aurelius says:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Piling good deed on good deed until no rift or cranny appears between them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It is hard. We need to learn how to do good for others, without expecting any sort of reward. The good act in itself is good enough. To be human is to help serve others:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Once you have done a man a service, what more would you have? Is it not enough to have obeyed the laws of your own nature, without expecting to be paid for it? That is like the eye demanding a reward for seeing, or the feet for walking. It is for that very purpose that they exist; and they have their due in doing what they were created to do. Similarly; man is born for deeds of kindness; and when he has done a kindly action, or otherwise served the common welfare, he has done what he was made for, and has received his quittance.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And once you help others, forget it. Better yet\u00e2\u20ac\u201d don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even be conscious that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re helping others. Marcus Aurelius tells us to have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no consciousness of all of what he has done, like the vine which produces a cluster of grapes looks for no more thanks than a horse that has run his race.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The pleasure of having helped others is good enough.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
For a week, do good unto others, without expecting any praise.<\/p>\n
10. Be grateful of your blessings<\/h2>\nSF, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Marcus Aurelius\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
No matter how wealthy or successful we are, we can never get everything that we want.<\/p>\n
Happiness isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t having everything in the world. Rather, happiness is being grateful for all the blessings we already have.<\/p>\n
Assignment:<\/h3>\n
Count your blessings, and then vividly imagine if you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have those blessings. How much would you crave those blessings if you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have them?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Meditations\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Marcus Aurelius is one of the few books that I have re-read over 10 times (in different translations as well). It is a book that I know will guide me into old age.<\/p>\n
There is a reason why the Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius has held up so well over the last 2,000 years or so \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the stuff works.<\/p>\n
I hope that you can also integrate some of these lessons into your life, to give you less suffering, stress, anxiety, and more strength to do your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s task \u00e2\u20ac\u201d to serve the common good.<\/p>\n
Always, \nEric<\/p>\n
Learn more about Stoicism<\/h2>\n
To learn more about Stoicism, I recommend the following books:<\/p>\n
![\"roman_-_portrait_of_the_emperor_marcus_aurelius_-_walters_23215\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Roman_-_Portrait_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Aurelius_-_Walters_23215.jpg?resize=1311%2C1800\")
<\/p>\n![\"NYC,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-street-portraits-1-laughing-lady-nyc-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"SF,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-street-portraits-2-bart-glasses-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"Melbourne,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-portrait-melbourne-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"New](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-color-portrait-hands-new-orleans-10-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"SF,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-street-portraits-6-sf-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"NYC,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-street-portraits-7-nyc-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"SF,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-street-portraits-3-orange-beard-sf-mission-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"New](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-color-portrait-color-new-orleans-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1325%2C2000\")
![\"Toronto,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/R0131318-2000x1325.jpg?resize=2000%2C1325\")
![\"SF,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/R0151011-2-2000x1325.jpg?resize=2000%2C1325\")
![\"Berkeley,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-self-portrait-2000x1330.jpg?resize=2000%2C1330\")