#891 The Daily Stoic Kid

What Coin Will YOU Pick Today?

In our last +1, we talked about going deep to serve profoundly.

Immediately after finishing that +1, I went downstairs to hang out with the family.

But…

Before I stepped out of the office to check in for some Deep Love time, I actually grabbed my new collection of Daily Stoic coins so Emerson and I could complete one of our new rituals.

Quick context.

You know that Memento Mori coin I love so much? Well, Ryan Holiday created that coin as part of his modern Stoic movement. I love the coin and his Daily Stoic book and everything he’s up to at DailyStoic.com.

And…

I recently discovered that he created a whole collection of coins to capture various aspects of Stoic philosophy.

So…

Of course, I immediately bought the whole set. 🤓

Which brings us to my new ritual with Emerson.

When the coins arrived, he and I had fun lining them all up and talking about what they mean. There are seven coins in total. Let’s take a quick look.

First, we have the Memento Mori coin. Memento Mori means “remember death.” The coin features a skull and reminds us of the fact that we could leave life at any moment. Therefore, make this one count!

Next up we have the Summum Bonum coin. Summum Bonum means “the highest good.” It’s a phrase Aristotle and other classic philosophers used to capture the most important thing in life—to live with eudaimonia. How? Via Areté. Which is why this coin features a statue of the goddess Areté on the front and Aurelius’s admonition to do your best on the back.

Then we have the Amor Fati coin. Amor Fati means to “love your fate.” This one features a fire on the front which represents Aurelius’s wisdom that “The blazing fire makes flames and brightness out of everything thrown into it.” The back has a Nietzsche quote: “Not merely to bear what is necessary… but love it.

Next up we have The Obstacle Is the Way coin. This one is based on Ryan’s book by the same name which is based on Aurelius’s wisdom that “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” That quote is on the back. On the front we have a picture of a trail leading up a mountain—implying that right after we get to that peak, we should expect to climb yet another mountain immediately thereafter.

Then we have an Ego Is the Enemy coin. This one is based on another one of Ryan’s books by the same name and features a headless bust to remind ourselves to avoid the dangers of excessive self-focus.

Next up we have the Premeditatio Malorum coin. Premeditatio Malorum means “the pre-meditation of evils.” The ancient Stoic reminder to anticipate what can go wrong is represented by a ship in heavy seas. (Every time I look at it I smile—remembering that Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, arrived in Athens via shipwreck. 😲)

And, finally, we have the Sympatheia coin. This one features a globe and serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of us all. The quote on the back? Another gem from Aurelius: “Revere the gods, and look after each other. Life is short—the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good.

It was super fun to explain all that to Emerson as we looked at the coins.

And…

Every morning we each pick a coin for the day.

This morning he picked the Shipwreck one. I picked Amor Fati.

All of which leads us to Today’s +1.

What coin will you (virtually) pick as a reminder of the ideals you aspire to embody Today?

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