Sep 2, 2022
The Philosophers School Is A Hospital
Today’s Daily Stoic Meditation outlines that healing hurts.
Philosophy is supposed to hurt, cause pain and tension.
This is the only way to push past your limits and grow.
“Men, the philosopher’s lecture-hall is a hospital — you shouldn’t walk out of it feeling pleasure, but pain, for you aren’t well when you enter it.”
— EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.23.30
Healing Hurts
The philosophers lecture hall is a hospital, and this is because healing hurts.
Any sort of growth, development or success has to hurt — there is no easy way around this.
Prepare yourself for the pain you will endure on your journey!
Why?
You wouldn’t expect healing to hurt.
You wouldn’t expect growth and development to come with some pain and discomfort.
However, pain and discomfort is essential.
—
If there is no pain or discomfort, you are not being pushed.
If there is no pain or discomfort, you will not exceed your previous limits.
f there is no pain or discomfort, everything is futile.
You need pain and discomfort.
Not Too Much Pain
Of course, there will not be too much pain.
The pain will not be gut-wrenching and unbearable — it will simply push you to the point necessary.
Developing Endurance
This training is all to help you develop endurance.
The pain, the tension, the hurt is all to aid you in endurance.
Healing enables you to endure difficult situations and events later in life.
It aids you in persevering through life’s many difficulties.
