“The fact that you can think, the fact that you can read this book, the fact that you are able to reason in and out of situations—all of this is what gives you the ability to improve your circumstances and become better. It's important to appreciate this ability, because it's a genuine ability. Not everyone is so lucky. Seriously-what you take for granted, others wouldn't even think to dream of. Take a little time today to remember that you're blessed with the capacity to use logic and reason to navigate situations and circumstances. This gives you unthinkable power to alter your circumstances and the circumstances of others. And remember that with power comes responsibility.” - Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic

I’ve read a passage from Ryan Holiday’s book, The Daily Stoic for going on five years now. You’d think that these passages would get old but they never do.

Maybe because there’s a different version of me reading each day’s passage every year? Or maybe at this point in my life I’m just living on the Stoicism frequency? I’m not sure.

Looking back across the years I see a clear idealistic evolution that’s taken place. I've gone from believing I could help change the world in big ways to the realization that very few of us have that opportunity.

"Hold sacred your capacity for understanding. For in it is all, that our ruling principle won't allow anything to enter that is either inconsistent with nature or with the constitution of a logical crea-ture. It's what demands due diligence, care for others, and obedience to God." —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 3.9

I haven't lost the desire to help shape the world into a better place but I realize the best delivery device for doing this is through my own thoughts and the ripples and waves that are created by my actions. These ripples echo out from all of us, effecting the world in subtle ways. This is something we’re all doing nearly every waking hour but we hardly give it a thought.

Today’s passage above hit differently than most. Lately I’ve written a lot about how, in our deeply divided world, each of us have a responsibility for our thoughts and ideas. Perhaps, most importantly, we should practice taking pauses in our lives. This air-gap or pause between thoughts and actions is immensely important and powerful—it happens to be a skill that only time and experience can teach. Meditation helps to speed it along.

By pauses, I mean taking a beat to consider if the things we amplify across social platforms and even in our day-to-day conversations are helpful or even if they’re true. In our dopamine-addicted world it’s so easy to run hot or cold, to act purely on emotion, or to prove to the world our specific ideology is right. But you know what? Life isn’t always about being right.

Sometimes it’s a true gift to possess the ability to sit back, observe, listen, to take that beat. We don’t need to add to the noise, the arguments, to the dysfunction. I’m sitting with these thoughts quite a bit today so I wanted to share them with all of you.

This week I plan on asking myself...

What ripples am I sending out into the world?

Be well, make the most of this day. Thank you for reading!

If you're interested in learning to meditate, please take a look at my book, The Perfect Pause.

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