Forwarded from The Stoicism (StoicBot)
Day 277 - LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER
Watching other people succeed is one of the toughest things to do—especially if we are not doing well ourselves. In our hunter-gatherer minds, we suspect that life is a zero-sum game—that for someone to have more means that we might end up with less.
But like all parts of philosophy, empathy and selflessness are a matter of practice. As Seneca observed, it’s possible to learn to “rejoice in all their successes and be moved by their every failure.” This is what a virtuous person does.
They teach themselves to actively cheer for other people—even in cases where that might come at their own expense—and to put aside jealousy and possessiveness. You can do that too.
Watching other people succeed is one of the toughest things to do—especially if we are not doing well ourselves. In our hunter-gatherer minds, we suspect that life is a zero-sum game—that for someone to have more means that we might end up with less.
But like all parts of philosophy, empathy and selflessness are a matter of practice. As Seneca observed, it’s possible to learn to “rejoice in all their successes and be moved by their every failure.” This is what a virtuous person does.
They teach themselves to actively cheer for other people—even in cases where that might come at their own expense—and to put aside jealousy and possessiveness. You can do that too.
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An ordinary evening in Japan:
During the night of May 4-5
an unidentified object flew over the country, and its landing was accompanied by an eerie hum
During the night of May 4-5
an unidentified object flew over the country, and its landing was accompanied by an eerie hum