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The essence of life

This Stoic Quote Might Be the Key to Surviving Modern Chaos

You can fight life or learn to move with it

4 min readOct 11, 2025

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Marcus aurelius in commanding pose with sculpted torso under moody sky and greek relics background
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This quote from the Stoic Marcus Aurelius isn’t advice, but it’s worth your attention. It offers a brilliant insight you may otherwise overlook. You need to consider it thoroughly to uncover its true value.

Quote:

“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.” — Marcus Aurelius

You might dismiss Aurelius’s quote without thought unless you give it a chance. You’ve observed that life can be tough, so the idea that it’s like wrestling is no surprise. However, look closely, and you will note there’s more to his words than you first believed.

Constant wrestling is painful

Wrestling is mentally and physically stressful. You need strength and endurance to keep getting back up after you’re knocked to the ground. Perhaps that’s why Marcus Aurelius compared it to the art of living. You have little choice other than to receive hard knocks. How long it takes to get up again depends on your resilience and situation. But rise you must, only to be knocked down again another time. The continual battle teaches you how to be strong amid chaos and helps you gain confidence.

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George J. Ziogas
George J. Ziogas

Written by George J. Ziogas

HR Consultant | Vocational Education Teacher | Personal Trainer | Editor | Manners will take you where money won't | ziogasjgeorge@gmail.com

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