Soni Thompson shares the message from her morning meditation that aligns with the goal of Billion Strong.

Some people have complex to fairly simple morning routines, while others just roll out of bed and go with the flow. For the past several months, one of my personal routines has been to start my day by reading a passage from The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

This morning, the meditation for July 21st was so powerful that I immediately sent an email to the small but mighty Billion Strong team. I knew that it was something they needed to read today. And then I realized that this message really is for everyone, the entire Billion Strong community. It’s a wonderful reminder of why we are all here.

July 21st

Made For Working Together

“Whenever you have trouble getting up in the morning, remind yourself that you’ve been made by nature for the purpose of working with others, whereas even unthinking animals share sleeping. And it’s our own natural purpose that is more fitting and more satisfying.” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.12

If a dog spends all day in bed – your bed, most likely – that’s fine. That’s just being a dog. It doesn’t have anywhere to be, no other obligations other than being itself. According to the Stoics, we humans have a higher obligation – not to the gods but to each other. What gets us out of bed each morning – even when we fight it like Marcus did – is praxeis koinonikas apodidonai (to render works held in common). Civilization and country are great projects we build together and have been building together with our ancestors for millennia. We are made for cooperation (synergia) with each other.

So, if you need an extra boost to get out of bed this morning, if you need something more than caffeine can offer, use this. People are depending on you. Your purpose is to help us render this great work together. And we’re waiting and excited for you to show up.

Holiday, Ryan, and Stephen Hanselman. The Daily Stoic: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on the Art of Living. Portfolio, 2016.

This is exactly what we are doing with Billion Strong. Together, we are building a global community, an identity movement, for people with disabilities and people at the intersection of other minority groups. We are cooperating with one another to help change the world. It’s not a small task, but it is so incredibly important. People are depending on us. Our purpose is to render this great work together. So, please help spread the word. Tell everyone you know – people with disabilities, allies, and accomplices – to join the movement. We are waiting and excited for all to show up.