This video was made possible by Brilliant, a math and science problem-solving website that makes learning fun and rewarding.
From the hundreds of wise people I've read or read about, from Socrates to the Stoics, from Homer to Dostoevsky, from the Bhagavad Gita to the Bible, I've seen one piece of wisdom pop up over and over again in different forms.
Honor your soul.
And in this video, we're going to explore why that is and what that means.
Seneca, an ancient Roman philosopher, said that a wise man needs nothing from the world.
Honoring his own soul is his one and only need, and it's one which no one can prevent him from achieving.
And by having this one need, by needing nothing from the world, by only needing to honour his own soul, he lives a happy life, no matter what his outer circumstances are.
Make no mistake, the wise man still wants other things from life friends, a home food clothes, money but he doesn't need them.
We suffer when we need things that we don't have.
A bigger home, a faster car, fancier clothing, the love of someone special, more riches, approval from others, a prestigious job, a fitter body or better health.
Needing more than we have causes unhappiness.
Needing more is a never-ending pit towards hell because the need for more can never be satisfied.
Anything that takes time to acquire can never lead to lasting happiness, not even food, water or air.
Even those things need to be acquired again and again.
The man who needs a hundred dollars soon needs a thousand, and then tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands, and then millions and then billions.
That hole can never be filled because there's always more things to be acquired.
Needing more is of course different from wanting more.
Needing more implies that there's a hole to be filled, whereas wanting more implies that the door is left open for more to enter.
But one will be fine if more does not come.
Needing something from the world puts our happiness in a fragile position, because everything that can be given to us can be taken away.
Our money, our possessions, and even our bodies.
Everything is impermanent, changing, moving, flowing from one hand to another.
But when the only things we need are the things we already have, our internal suffering comes to an end.
If the only thing we need is to honor our own soul, happiness is inevitable, because achieving that need is always within our control.
We can instantaneously fulfill it in every moment.
Nothing stops us from achieving it.
Needing nothing from the world except for what we have causes happiness.
The only thing that seems to be ours, that thing that can't be taken away from us, that thing which we always have, is our own soul.
Our soul is the only thing we truly seem to own.
It's the only thing that takes no time to acquire.
It's the foundational essence that separates the living from the nonliving, that informs who and what we are.
So the wise man dedicates his life to honoring his own soul, that one thing that is his alone, that which no one can touch, take away or express but himself.
It was the first thing he brought into this world and it'll be the last thing he carries with him on his way out.
Honoring his soul is his one and only need, and because he can fulfill that need in every moment, he achieves happiness.
And honouring his soul requires him to do only one thing.
Live in accordance with his own values.
When we act on our deep internal values, we honour our soul.
But when we live according to someone else's values, we dishonour our soul.
And the wise man honours his soul because he understands that it is his purpose.
Similar to how water is formed when hydrogen and oxygen are brought together.
His soul was formed by the world when the right causes came together.
The world is governed by a law of causes and effects, and his soul is the effect of a chain of causes perhaps going back to the beginning of time itself.
The whole world had to happen in a specific way to bring Him about.
Because of the way the past had unfolded, His birth was a necessity.
And by honoring His soul, by living in accordance with His internal values, He lives out that purpose which He was born for.
And honoring our souls is simple, but not easy.
Socrates fully honored his soul, and it ended with his imprisonment and death sentence.
Jesus honored his soul, and it ended with his crucifixion.
But in both cases, honoring their souls is also what led to their greatness and legacy.
They fulfilled the purpose they were born for.
So by living in accordance with his own personal values, the wise man honors his soul.
And if honoring his soul is his one and only need, he achieves happiness, because nothing but himself can stop him from fulfilling that need.
And if you're looking to cultivate your skills in science and math, I recommend checking out this week's sponsor, Brilliantorg.
Through their course on scientific thinking, Brilliant taught me how to think more like a scientist.
They helped me to make better predictions about the world, such as when I'm working with my YouTube analytics.
And this, in turn, helped me achieve more success in my YouTube career so far.
In their course on scientific thinking, you'll learn to think like a scientist and make better predictions.
And you'll get to do it through brilliant signature fun and interactive style.
Scientific literacy and the ability to think and communicate like a scientist is more important now than ever before.
We're entering a world that divides us all into two groups.
Those who can think for themselves and those who can't.
And if you want to be one of those who can, I recommend checking out Brilline's course on scientific thinking.
But if scientific thinking isn't your thing, Brilliant has thousands of other lessons with new exclusive content added each month for different areas of study, such as math, logic or computer science.
To try everything Brilliant has to offer free, for a full 30 days.
Visit brilliantorg slash freedom in thought or click on the link in the description below.
The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant's annual premium subscription.
As always, thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.
