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What did Marcus Aurelius mean by “the impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way”?
He is not saying obstacles are good. He is saying they are material. A blocked road forces a new one; an unfair boss trains patience; illness teaches what you actually control. The Stoic move is to treat every obstacle as the exact assignment reality just handed you, and to act on the part of it that is up to you.