One Bit of Philosophical Wisdom

We all work with a combination of philosophical precepts in our daily life. If you could only give someone one bit of philosophical wisdom to help guide them in their lives, what would it be and why?



For me, I would borrow from the Upanishads:



This was the most mentally transforming bit of philosophy for me, as it identifies the individual with the absolute, or in our terms the Individual with the Force. It has helped me to be a better person, and to recognize the inherent dignity of others. I learned compassion, empathy, and the nature of reality from this one phrase

"The truth is always greater than the words we use to describe it." —Matthew Stover

“O heart!
What a blessing to have reached
The circle of Lovers.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi

"I shall meet with people who are meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable. They are subject to these faults because of their ignorance of what is good and bad. But I have recognised the nature of the good and seen that it is the right, and the nature of the bad and seen that it is the wrong, and the nature of the wrongdoer himself, and seen that he is related to me, not because he has the same blood or seed, but because he shares in the same mind and portion of divinity. So I cannot be harmed by any of them, as no one will involve me in what is wrong. Nor can I be angry with my relative or hate him. We were born for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth. So to work against each other is contrary to nature; and resentment and rejection count as working against someone." – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.1

Came here to share some Marcus Aurelius but Senan beat me to it. Thank you! Nothing brightens my day like Roman stoicism. It's not just their architecture that survived the test of time. I was actually introduced to Stoicism through Marcus Aurelius, but I had no idea how far the philosophy actually stretched back.

In continuing the wisdom of the Romans, allow me to share some Pliny the Elder.

In recent years, the motto that I have used in life has been "I never found a disagreement in politics, religion or philosophy to withdraw from a friend" -Thomas Jefferson

I do not judge based on which box you check on the ballot or in what building you chose to spend you time in. If you are a friend then are a friend for a reason. It is one's character and how they treat others (especially in disagreement) that I see the truth of some people. It teaches us that we should not see life beyond our own identities and titles.

This is a tough question. There are so many little pearls of wisdom out there that it's next to impossible to have a favorite. But if I were going to give a person one piece of wisdom it would come from one of the philosophical greats, Ryan Reynolds as Van Wilder:

"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it never gets you anywhere."

That movie is oddly full of great quotes like that. "You can't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive." "You can't treat every situation like it's life or death, 'cause you're gonna die a lot of times."

We no longer walk around with hilt on hip yet our speech can benefit from similar practices to the sword. With this light , the beauty and caution CAN play difrent roles.
Master Carlos

Senan wrote: "I shall meet with people who are meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable. They are subject to these faults because of their ignorance of what is good and bad. But I have recognised the nature of the good and seen that it is the right, and the nature of the bad and seen that it is the wrong, and the nature of the wrongdoer himself, and seen that he is related to me, not because he has the same blood or seed, but because he shares in the same mind and portion of divinity. So I cannot be harmed by any of them, as no one will involve me in what is wrong. Nor can I be angry with my relative or hate him. We were born for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth. So to work against each other is contrary to nature; and resentment and rejection count as working against someone." – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.1

I came looking for wisdom on how to handle resentment, and I found this. May others who might need it find it as well.

So to work against each other is contrary to nature; and resentment and rejection count as working against someone." –


Gotta memer this one !
Thank you !!!