As is now Modern Meditations tradition we ended 2024 with reading Seneca’s “On The Shortness of Life” and sat down for a chat about how we did with this year that is not coming back.

We both saw meaningful ways that Stoicism had major impacts in our lives for the better, whether that be through breakups, travel, making major career moves, graduating college or deaths in the family.

And at the end we have the internationally acclaimed awards ceremony for the best episodes of the year called, “The Aurelis.“

On the 50th episode of Modern Meditations we break our format to give you two audio essays that changed our views on what it means to be a citizen of the world. In Meditations we read, “My city and country, so far as I am Antoninus, is Rome; but so far as I am a human being, it is the world."

The first, by Bruce, from his trip on Thailand and the lessons he learned from the East that would solve many problems in the West. And another from Justin that shows where philanthropy without true understanding of needs and the culture can go wrong.

We intentionally left the commentary out this week and just raise interesting questions. We would love to hear your thoughts on the format and the content at modernmeditationspodcast@gmail.com.

Experience Stoic literature first-hand by listening directly to the audiobook of Mediations by Marcus Aurelius.

Book 9 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius contains absolute banger quotes such as:
9:20 "It is your duty to leave another man's wrongful act there where it is."
9:27 "When another blames you or hates you, or when men say about you anything injurious, approach their poor sould, look within, and see what kind of men they are. You will discover that there is no reason to take any trouble that these men may have this or that opinion about you. However, you must be well disposed towards them, for by nature they are friends."

But don't let us decide which quotes are worthy of your thought and attention; listen and directly find the quotes that most resonate with you on your Stoic journey to building wisdom and character!