Innate to all of us is a desire to matter; a yearning to be important. When we’re just passing through a town to our next destination, however, it seems less important to impress these people. Why convince these people who you may never run into again of your significance?
As the Daily Stoic reminded me this week, our lives are very much like a pass through town. With the passage of time, the people all around us will be gone, followed by those that remembered those people. Soon, we will be forgotton.
On the surface this may sound depressing. With the right frame of mind, it is freeing. Once we can let go of the need to impress others, we can look inward and concern ourselves with becoming the best that we can be according to our own philosophy.
Stoicism is not for everybody. If you find yourself interested, you can do what I do and subscribe to a daily email that is about three short paragraphs from The Daily Stoic. It should hit your inbox each morning a little after 8 am Central.
I try to read it like a daily meditation. After reading it, I reflect on it and maybe even write something down about it. The practice is rewarding, and I encourage you to find a daily meditation of your own.
Featured photo by Thiago Barletta on Unsplash
The Shaw Show 