| He was powerful. He was wise. He was important. It did not spare him. In 147 AD, Marcus Aurelius welcomed the birth of his firstborn, a daughter named Domitia Faustina. He would bury her before her 5th birthday. In 149 AD, Marcus and his wife had twin sons, Titus Aurelius Antoninus and his brother Titus Aelius Aurelius. Neither survived infancy. And so it would go for Marcus Aurelius and his wife again and again, a nearly unfathomable amount of times. In the end, they would outlive all but four of their 13 children. Can you imagine? The pain? The hammer blows of one tragedy after another? There's no way he didn't stagger under the weight of it all. His hair would have turned grey. His shoulders would have stooped. He would have stared off in the distance. He would have, as we know he did, broken down in tears at the mention of loss or memories. Nor would his story have been particularly unique in Rome—infant mortality was high, life was unpredictable and cruel (memento mori). But the world is not all that different today. We are all fighting our own battles, we are all besieged by misfortune in our own ways. Marcus Aurelius' story should inspire us not just to carry on but to be sympathetic and patient with others (our Meditations guide gives more context about just how inspiring Marcus' story is, by the way). You have no idea what that person in front of you in the grocery store line is going through. The people you disagree with, whose views you don't understand? Imagine what tragedies and pain have shaped them, distorted their perspective. Imagine the weight of what they carry. It's this understanding that can bind us, remind us that beneath all that power, wisdom, or status—or strange choices or frustrating behavior—there remains a human being just like us, bearing unseen burdens and suffering. And just like us, they deserve a little compassion, a little grace, and understanding too.
This Week On The Daily Stoic Podcast: Actor Ed Helms on History's Greatest Screwups You might know Ed Helms as Andy Bernard from The Office or Stu Price from The Hangover movies—but did you know he's also a serious history buff? He's especially fascinated by history's biggest screwups, better known as SNAFUs ("Situation Normal: All F**ked Up"). In today's episode, Ed joins Ryan to unpack some of these epic blunders, explain how history became an escape for him, and share why learning about the past can be surprisingly therapeutic.
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