Stephen Hanselman (4:23)

Right?

Ryan Holiday (4:23)

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Stephen Hanselman (6:05)

Hey, it's Ryan. Welcome to another episode of the Daily Stoic podcast. We're doing some riffing from the Daily Stoke Journal this morning. I've got mine in my leather case. It says make time. I gotta make time to do that journaling. And when I don't, my psyche, my brain, my philosophy practice suffers. You can grab that@store.dailystoic.com Today's entry is about the portable retreat it is in the future, on vacation, on our day off, when we plan to get out into nature that we think will find peace and release from the crush of the everyday demands of life. But this never really seems to happen as often as we think, does it? And when we do get that peace, it's difficult to keep it once we're back in the fray. Well, for the Stoic, all this is madness. The true retreat is in the freedom of our own mind and soul to consider. The gifts we already have can be our refuge for all time if we take the time daily to do so. So good for you. Taking a little quiet time this morning or evening to listen to a podcast. It's not cramming you full of info, but it's a bit more philosophical. And then hopefully you've got the Daily Stoic Journal out. Or the Daily Stoic. But we've got three quotes in this week's entry. One from Marcus, one from Epictetus, and another from Marcus. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4 3. He says people seek retreats for themselves in the country, by the sea, or in the mountains. You are very much in the habit of yearning for those same things. But this is Entirely the trait of a base person, when you can at any moment find such a retreat in yourself. For nowhere can you find a more peaceful and less busy treat than inside your own soul, especially if on close inspection it is filled with ease, which I say is nothing more than being well ordered. Treat yourself often to this retreat and be renewed. Then Epictetus says, remember, it is not only the desire for wealth and position that debases and subjugates us, also the desire for peace and leisure and travel and learning. It doesn't matter what the external thing is, the value we place on it subjugates us to another. Where our heart is set, there are impediment lies. And then Marcus Rhelius says, remember that your ruling reason becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself so that it won't do anything contrary to its own will, even if its position is irrational. How much more unconquerable if its judgments are careful and made rationally. Therefore, the mind, freed from passions, is an impenetrable fortress, and a person has no more secure place of refuge for all time. That's Meditations 848. I'm thinking about this because I'm just doing a little recording here before I go out of town. It's my kids spring break. We're going to spend a week down at the beach. And I look forward to this and I enjoy it. And I sometimes weirdly get more done there, more present there. You are a different person on vacation. But the Stoics would say, why does it have to be that way? What does it say? That your life is something that you feel the need to escape from. So one of the things that I try to do, I mean, I like going down there. That's one of the perks of working for myself. I don't have to be in one location and sometimes it changes scenery. It's good for things.

Ryan Holiday (9:15)

But I ask myself, what is it

Stephen Hanselman (9:17)

about my routine there that allows me to not feel so rushed in the morning, spend more time with the kids, sort of write at leisure. Why do I seem to have more time in the day? Why am I always available to catch the sunset? And what is stopping me from being able to do that at home? That's what Markus is saying. He's like, look, the thing that's working here is you. Like, you're finding the retreat in yourself, that moment of stillness or whatever, and that's available to you anywhere. He says that inside your own soul there is peace and not so much busyness. I love Taking my family, we go to Big Bend a couple times a year. One of my favorite national parks. And what I love while we're there is looking up at this incredible sky. So little light pollution there. The stars just. They feel like they pop right out of the black sky. I remember we went, and then I was back a couple weeks later and I had to go take the trash out or something. And I live out in the country, there's not a lot of light pollution where I live. And I sort of looked up for a second and I was like, this

Ryan Holiday (10:19)

sky's almost as good as it is there.

Stephen Hanselman (10:21)

We drove eight hours to look at stars. And how many nights do I walk to take out the trash or get something my kids forgot in the car and I don't take a minute to just step up and look. Right. That's kind of what I'm thinking about here is so much of what we give ourselves on those retreats or those vacations or those time away we could have inside ourself anytime we choose. And indeed we deserve to do that. And I think about, you know, I read more, but I could read more here. I just. I throw my phone in the other room and I forget about it for a while. And I need to do that here. You need to do that here. Give yourself a staycation, give yourself a life that's a little bit closer to that vibe where you're a bit more philosophical. You're taking the time, you're retreating into your own self. You're finding the refuge that is there inside yourself. That's what it's all about. To me, that's what I think the Stoics are reminding themselves. And look, Marcus Aurelius had a country estate. Epictetus had a country estate. They all traveled, they all saw the world. They weren't saying you never do it. They're just saying, don't do it as an escape. Don't do it. Fooling yourself that it's not something you could have now inside yourself at any moment, and in fact you must do it just takes a bit more discipline. It's not as easy as buying a plane ticket and planning a trip. So I hope whether it's close to your spring break here or not, or what plans you have, you take this lesson from the Stoics seriously. Because it's an important one and it's one I'm struggling with and thinking about myself. And I hope today's perspective was helpful. You can grab this cool cover we have for the Daily Stoic journal@store.dailystoak.com if you don't have the Daily Stoic Journal, you can grab them as a package and I'll sign it and it's cool. It says make time on the front and it's a reminder from Epictetus. Every day and night, keep thoughts like this at hand. Write them. Read them aloud. Talk to yourself and others about them. That's what I'm doing on this podcast. That's what you're doing by listening. I really appreciate the opportunity to do that. I'll talk to you all soon.

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