Ryan Holidays keys to stillness has been inspired by the wisest people and the best of literature, and gives prime examples of people who embodies them—and those who fail to do so. There is not anything new here, Rather the opposite is true–the sources he draws from are old, even ancient. But the book doesn’t feel dated. Instead it feels timeless and yet very applicable to our modern life.
Notes of finding Stillness
📱Limit Your Inputs:
Napoleon was always weeks behind on his mail. He was surprised how many urgent problems had already been resolved ones got to them.
📖 Read Deeply and Regularly:
Leo Tolstoy: “I cant believe how some people can live without communicating with the wisest people who ever lived on planet earth.”
💪🏻 Act Bravely:
“High minded thoughts and inner work is one thing, but all that matters is what you do”. The health of our spiritual ideals depends on what we do with our bodies in moments of truth. I need to work on this one…
👁 Be present:
“Be present. And if you have had trouble with this in the past, That’s ok. That’s the nice thing about the present, it keeps showing up to give you a second chance.”
🔁 Rituals
“A master has a system, a master turns the ordinary into the sacred. And so must we.”
What’s rituals are sacred to you? What systems keep you on track?
🌅 Notice Beauty:
there is beauty in..”a floor filled with a kids toys arranged in the chaos of exhausted enjoyment.” This mindset will come in handy on my parents leave. 😂
🏕 Solitude with Purpose:
Take some time to be alone with important work, or just to study a subject deeply, or ponder? 💥 Action: Booked my next Reflection Week for Sep.
📦 Get rid of stuff!
Reducing your needs to zero, and you are truly free; and nothing can be taken away from you. (But don’t go full Diogenes!)
🤤 Beware of Desire:
Desire is like a hydra; satisfy one, and two more grows in its place.
Epicurus: “Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.”
⚖️ VERDICT:
To be re-read yearly. It snapped me out of the busyness of everyday life and provided perspective to my priorities.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ out of 5
Find more great reads on my book reviews page and the Great Books List
