Kay:

Hey there Questers and welcome back! It’s Tuesday, January 5th and this is episode 262. We have a, you guessed it, Marcus Aurelius quote for you today. I can’t read it because this is definitely a Shi’s spirit mentor.

Shi:

One of them, yes. Can’t wait to give you this quote from Marcus Aurelius who was a Roman Emperor known as the philosopher King, and someone who really embodied and emboldened the stoicism style of philosophy and teachings. His quote that I have chosen for us today is, “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”

Kay:

Oh, got to love a good philosopher-king. Hey, better than a tyrant King.

Shi:

Definitely.

Kay:

Better than a war King. I am in for the philosopher King and we’re going to break this down just into these two sentences. He’s got two rules here, so two rules for life. The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. Ooh, this is a tough rule that encompasses a whole lot of discipline and action behind it.

Shi:

A whole lot. An untroubled spirit. This is that inner part first. Kay and I like to talk a lot about there being an inner and an outer expression of pretty much everything in our lives. So, Marcus Aurelius’ quote here from 3000 years ago is recognizing this fact as well. The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. That has all the junk that happens inside your four walls. Nothing to do with the experiences or the circumstances outside of who you are, but that spirit on the inside – that flame from the source, that link to God, that feeling of oneness. Whatever it is that you call it, it is that life energy that is inside of you and when we trouble it, we stir it up, we experience a lot of unrest emotionally, spiritually, and usually physically as well. So, this is a really important rule but one that takes a lifetime to figure out.

Kay:

I think too, the words here are very intentional because it’s not just about preserving an untroubled spirit. It’s about actively keeping an untroubled spirit. The lighthouse keeper doesn’t just sit there and look at the lighthouse. He has to go and light the flame and clean the glass and make sure that it’s all working.

Shi:

That’s the main guy responsible.

Kay:

Yeah, the main guy responsible. So, you are the main guy responsible for keeping your connection to your source energy as untroubled as it can be.

Shi:

Untroubled here really meaning not being disturbed by those circumstances and experiences. It doesn’t mean not touched by trouble. It means not forever scarred by trouble or I imagine that spinning top, it’s got a lot of energy. It’s got a lot of emotion but when we introduce a little bit of trouble to it that wobble only gets bigger and eventually knocks down the top. With our spirits, we want to be careful to protect that flame from trouble while still sharing it and cultivating it. So, it’s a hard rule to keep but a good one that we should all strive towards.

Kay:

So, let’s take a look at this second rule here. Then he says, the second rule is to, “Look things in the face and know them for what they are.” Now, this is a difficult sentence, I think, to swallow because you might say to yourself, well I can look at the instances in my life and the circumstances around me and I know what they are from my perspective, but can you really know what they are until maybe you take a look at: how does somebody else see this? How do the other people affected by the situation see whatever it is that’s going on or whatever it is in your life? Knowing things for what they are at the base of them doesn’t just mean holding on until death with your attachments to the way that you think things have to be.

Shi:

I think there’s this difference here too between that understanding of surrender. You’ll hear that a lot. Surrender to something and that can make you feel like it means just lay down or be a victim. But this, “look things in the face and know them for what they are,” means that you’re responding, not reacting. It means that you’re bringing logic and intelligence and experience to the table no matter what is facing you. So, that coupled with your untroubled spirit is really less about that “be a victim” and just whatever happens let it be but to really approach it from a place of peace and calmness from within so that you can respond outwardly in a way that you’re proud of. That’s in alignment with your values and you can’t do that without being able to assess a situation as objectively as possible. It’s not always possible to get very objective but I know there are certain things in my life, I’ll tell you, where I know exactly what it is. That person cheated and lied and stole and that is probably a little more subjective than it should be.

Kay:

Ah, well, be you a regular human like we or the philosopher King himself you’ve got some rules and play. Like Marcus Aurelius tells us, “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit and the second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.” So, your quest today gang is a rule quest!

Shi:

Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop or should I say whoo.

Kay & Shi:

Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo.

Shi:

Now, before I give you the quest, I just want to tell you that Marcus Aurelius has popped into my subconscious a couple of times this year. I’ve just woken up with his name on my mind. I didn’t even really know who he was, but I did my favorite thing which was rigorously research him on Google and found some really amazing things. So, just want to give you a little nudge that if there’s a name in history (and Kay and I both experienced this), that bugs you, go look them up. There’s something you’re supposed to find or read or see that will help you and this was certainly one of those characters for me this year. So, your quest is to choose one of these whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo…

Kay:

Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo.

Shi:

…and focus on it today, whether it’s keeping your spirit in flow, that untroubled spirit, or facing your environment with clarity and focus and knowing it for what it is, choose one of the rules and embody it today. Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!