ancient wisdom
the path to liberation: the quest for “what next?”
What is the fruit of these teachings? Only the most beautiful and proper harvest of the truly educated—tranquility, fearlessness, and freedom. We should not trust the masses who say only the free can be educated, but rather the lovers of wisdom who say that only the educated are free.
focus on the process, not the end goal
“Those obsessed with glory attach their well-being to the regard of others, those who love pleasure tie it to feelings, but the one with true understanding seeks it only in their own actions.”
“Think on the character of the people one wishes to please, the possessions one means to gain,
the diya within: nurturing your inner light
“Protect your own good in all that you do, and as concerns everything else take what is given as far as you can make reasoned use of it. If you don’t, you’ll be unlucky, prone to failure, hindered and stymied.”
— Epictetus, Discourses, 4.3.11
Each of us
it’s the little things that add up in the end
“You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible—and no one can keep you from this.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.32
In the fabric of human existence, it's often the tiniest threads that weave
the unseen bars: the internal price of wrongdoing
“The greatest portion of peace of mind is doing nothing wrong. Those who lack self-control live disoriented and disturbed lives.”
– Seneca, Moral Letters, 105.7
The lure of the shortcut, the thrill of the forbidden – these are powerful motivators. Yet, beneath the fleeting highs of wrongdoing lies a hidden punishment,
busy doesn't always mean better
“I can’t call a person a hard worker just because I hear they read and write, even if working at it all night. Until I know what a person is working for, I can’t deem them industrious.… I can if the end they work for is their own
meaningful work: the source of lasting joy
focus on making choices that honor your best self
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“Where is Good? In our reasoned choices. Where is Evil? In our reasoned choices. Where is that which is neither Good nor Evil? In the things outside of our own reasoned choice.”
– Epictetus, Discourses, 2.16.1
In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, Vibheeshan, Ravan’s younger
stop caring about what other people think
“I’m constantly amazed by how easily we love ourselves above all others, yet we put more stock in the opinions of others than in our own estimation of self. . . . How much credence we give to the opinions our peers have of us and how little to our very own!