"The person you are matters more than the place to which you go; for that reason we should not make the mind a bondsman to any one place."

~ Seneca (Letter 28, On Travel as a Cure for Discontent)

I just took a trip to Italy! 🟩⬜🟥

And while a vacation could be a preferred indifferent, we need to remember why it's indifferent in the first place.

The purpose of a vacation shouldn't be to get away, shouldn't be to depart from where you are now because you unfavour the circumstances.

Our surroundings don't change us, we change us. It's not the environment that causes us to unfavour our circumstances, but our perspectives toward that environment.

So, naturally, people travel as a cure for discontent or restlessness. You're tired, you're not liking the view from your window, the traffic is getting to you, the people are getting to you and eventually, the bubble pops and you 'try to get away from it all...'

But then what?

After your week or month trip, you're back to those same circumstances.

The same circumstances that caused you to up and go in the first place. Now, there's two ways to work through this - and one is wrong. The first way is to constantly keep changing circumstances.

And this is wrong because you may not be able to, it might not be possible, you'll never be satisfied and always looking for more.

The second? Be content with the circumstances you're in.

A vacation shouldn't be used as a tool to get away, but simply as a means to sight-see, because where you are now is good enough.

A vacation shouldn't be used as a means to be content again, but simply as a means to experience new things, because contentment should come long before then.

P.S. If you like the writeup, I've also been making videos about Stoicism and philosophy in general for about a year - come check it out :) Betwixt Philosophy

Cheers

Adam

?

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

Here’s a link to the book’s site where you will find a detailed explanation of its purpose and inspiration.
To summarize that information, the book is intended to be encouraging to the reader, and for what is read to be of use every day. Each poem is a topic, ranging from community, reflecting, and improvement to vicissitudes, being wronged, and death. They are written in an encouraging tone, but also gets a little spicy at times; never rude, but definitely firm, and usually the firmness is directed at reminding myself to be kind and considerate to myself the same way I try to be to others. Each poem - made of 7 haikus - draws inspiration from the Meditations, Discourses, Letters, and other sources of Stoic philosophy.

Here's a link to my Substack community where I invite all of you to come and discuss the contents of the book. There are a few posts there right now, and I intend to send out a new one every couple of weeks. If you do not have the book, here are the first four poems for you to check out, in addition to the poems I have posted over on the Substack page.

Looking forward to discussing these poems with you! They are all marinated in traditional Stoic philosophy, and I hope you find them useful.

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

As a junior college (17), Over the recent few weeks i was able to discover philosophy and stoicism and this interested me quite a bit, and so i wanted to try to learn more about this, but then i had a thought to myself, an oppurtunity that I wanted to fully maximize,

which is if I wanted to learn more about stoicism then I would learn it in the way of communication, you see I have a major problem which is talking to people or conversing with people, where in, the thoughts that i articulated well aren’t coming out of my mouth as I thought it would, so my ideas and opinions even if they are good or bad have, i have trouble sharing them, I needed experience.

so to get to the point I would like to have a one on one session with you either through phone call/discord/facetime or anything of the like and then we would express thoughts and ideas on philosophy like stoicism or nihilism or cynism or anything of the like, this would then entail me to having better experience on conversing with people.

rom the mastery book by robert greene, its better to discuss ideas with someone like a mentor or a friend than to theorize on your own, and I know some of you guys will say that you can just self teach yourself on this, but you see, self-aprenticeship is limited and I what to truly learn by any means.

You can message me privately if you would like to participate, and you may also set a schedule for this.

And lastly there is also the option of it being a group call, since the more ideas there then the better

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_5ec1MfMSrY

There are alot of hypes on Marcus Aurelius, but let's forget about Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger 

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

“When you do anything from a clear judgement that it ought to be done, never shrink from being seen to do it, even though the world should misunderstand it; for if you are not acting rightly, shun the action itself; if you are, why fear those who wrongly censure you?”

~ Epictetus, Enchiridion (XXXV.)

Every action we do is under our responsibility. Whether we choose to act one way or the other, is completely under our own discretion. Therefore, what we choose to do, based on our foresight, should be conducted with clear judgement and with the intention of it being the right, just, and truthful action itself.

Recently, I talked about how Agrippinus defied Nero’s invitation to a get-together simply because he knew that attending was not right and would go against his values. But even after being questioned, he didn’t cave in to the pressure; he remained stern.

He wasn’t afraid of doing the action because he knew he was right - even when Florus, a Roman official, misunderstood and questioned his perspective. He didn’t fear the disapproval because that’s what was true to his self.

And that’s how we should act as well: Acting to the point where, with enough practice, we know it’s the right thing to do based on the alignment with our virtues, and to not back away from that position; to ensure that our actions are not wrong, unjust, and untruthful.

“But what do we do if we perform actions that are wrong, unjust, and untruthful?”

Shun the action itself.

Cheers,
Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that talks about Stoicism. 4x a week with posts like these, and summary issues at the end of each week highlighting passages, quotes, and wallpapers.

“‘Ay, but this is not suitable to my character.’

It is you who are to consider that, not I,: for it is you who know yourself, what value you set upon yourself, and at what rate you sell yourself; for different people sell themselves at different prices.”

~ Epictetus, On The Complete Works of Epictetus (Chapter II)

In every single situation you experience, what do you value and prioritize?

Here's a good story that should set a standard:

Nero was the infamous 5th Roman Emperor who was known for being extraneously violent and homicidal. It was publicly known that refusing Nero’s orders would most definitely get you murdered or tortured. Agrippinus was a Stoic philosopher who was highly regarded by Epictetus.

One day, Nero held an event for all and Agrippinus declined his attendance.

Florus, a Roman official, knew that not attending meant death. He even said: “But if I do not act a part, I shall lose my head.” Agrippinus simply responded: “Go and act it then, but I will not.” and outlined his duty to not conform and instead, to being the singular purple thread amongst the many white threads in a robe.

Agrippinus knew what he valued and knew that the value of living honourably was more valuable than living itself. That’s not to say that dying is preferable to living, even Agrippinus said that it’s not; however, the virtues are guides to what we must follow regardless of the circumstance, at all times.

The next time you are faced with a situation that may jeopardize the practice of your values, remember Aggripinus’ story and ask yourself: What do you truly value? What do you sell yourself at?

Don’t sell yourself short.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that talks about Stoicism. 4x a week with posts like these, and summary issues at the end of each week highlighting passages, quotes, and wallpapers.

“And so I conclude that because we humans acquire all good things by pain, the person who is himself unwilling to endure pain all but condemns himself to being worthy of nothing good.”

~ Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Sayings (Note 7)

Humans acquire all good things by pain. Wisdom from devastating failures, strength from exhausting exercise, courage from strenuous practice, etc… and by not willing to suffer through this pain, we neglect our ability to be virtuous.

There is a reason for pain’s importance. As Musonius Rufus put it in the same lecture: it allows us to be “good and just and self-controlled” (Note 7).

You can’t practice the virtue of temperance without enduring the pain of resisting pleasure.

You can’t practice the virtue of courage without enduring the pain of facing your fears.

You can’t practice the virtue of justice without enduring the pain of moderation and not taking more than your share.

You can’t practice the virtue of wisdom without enduring the pain of figuring out what is good and what is bad.

Suffering pain is necessary for improvement because, through pain, you find opportunity; the opportunity to practice virtuosity. The opportunity that allows you to make the right decision and practice being calm, disciplined, rational, free of pleasure. The opportunity that allows you to transform to who you want to be.

Suffer the pain that makes you improve. Suffer the pain that makes you good.

Suffer the pain that makes you virtuous.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“Perfection of character: to live your last day, every day, without frenzy, or sloth, or pretense.”

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (7.69)

Life is hectic now, and was still hectic back in the times of Ancient Rome. No matter your income status, education, or background, circumstances constantly pressured people to perform.

However, what were people performing for was, and still is, the real question.

Marcus Aurelius was constantly dealt with the pressures of being an Emperor (a.k.a. one of the most powerful individuals on Earth), but as we all know, great power comes with great responsibility: starving citizens, mass debt, wars, and the blame ultimately falling on his shoulders. So how did he live his stressful days?

By making sure that he’s doing the best he could.

By ensuring that he’s striving for perfection whenever possible, as much as possible.

By reflecting that tomorrow is never guaranteed, and because of that, we should act our finest today.

If we knew that it was potentially our last day on Earth, what would you rather do? Spiral into an uncontrolled frenzy and become careless, or live with the upmost determination to not allow our impressions and emotions get the better of us? To live with the discipline and satisfaction that you maintained your character throughout hardship? Stoicism encompasses the latter.

Regardless of our circumstances, we always have the opportunity to be ‘perfect’. We always have the opportunity to live our last days without anger, sloth, hysteria, and vices we wouldn’t normally want, and instead live those days with wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.

Take the opportunity before it’s gone forever.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“Convince them not to.

If you can.

And if not, remember: the capacity for patience was given us for a reason.”

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (9.11)

There’s one thing I can guarantee that has happened to you: you’ve never not been in an argument or a debate. At some point in all of our lives, we’ve been involved in a verbal dispute advocating for our beliefs.

And whenever we’re in an argument or a debate, the natural human inclination is to prove the other side wrong. Or prove them wrong according to our standards, at least.

But to fall in line with the Stoic Philosophy, we must remember that there should only be two avenues during this type of situation: calm persuasion and patience.

If you’re supporting a side in a discussion, calm persuasion is what we should invoke with the emphasis on ‘calm’. Calmly control your emotional responses and do not allow anger or resentment to transpire simply because the persuasion was unconvincing.

There should be no reason to become angered as a result of a failed persuasion, and that’s why we’re given patience for a reason. We won’t be able to convince everybody we come across and as a result, we have to bear with that reality.

The next time you catch yourself beginning to argue unnecessarily or debating with the objective of winning rather than the truth, ask yourself if you can convince them. If you can, go ahead, but only do so calmy and non-excessively.

If you can’t, enact the patience and control to not let your emotions get the better of you.

Cheers,

Adam
Pocket Stoicism

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet.

What’s in my thoughts at this moment? Fear? Jealousy? Desire? Feelings like that?”

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (12.19)

What were in your thoughts these past couple days? Did you take note if you felt fearful? Jealous? Angry? Sluggish? Sad?

Regardless if you did or didn’t, more often than not, these emotions are caused by external circumstances beyond our power. More specifically, it is the response we form because of these external circumstances beyond our power which we need to explore.

We control the internal character that responds to the situations we face. The things that affect us only affect us if we allow them to do so and while this may happen, Marcus Aurelius said that there is something more powerful within us to prevent it: and I’d argue that he is talking about our faculty of reason.

Our faculty of reason is the way in which we judge whether or not certain impressions, choices, and actions are in alignment with Nature. Is feeling anger from an insult aligned with Nature? Is being in good spirit after you lost all your money aligned with Nature? Our faculty of reasoning will know.

All in all, our faculty of reasoning decides finds the rational response we must undertake to a situation. Whether something is internal, external, indifferent, good, bad, etc… our faculty of reasoning will help us act accordingly.

It’s time to realize this: You have the influence over your responses. You have the ability to reason if an action of vice or virtue is good or bad, and as as a result, you have the control to decide how you respond. It’s not an easy task to do and will take time to get accustomed to, but it’s living accordingly with Nature.

Don’t let things external affect you into feeling fear, anger, etc… You hold the sole responsibility to dictate how you respond to an event beyond your control.

Cheers,
Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

This sub is intended to serve primarily as an archive for posts about Stoicism in practice. These may include formal exercises, personal battles and victories (however big or small), examples from others, explanations, et cetera. The goal is to focus on the "first area":

​

> The first and most necessary area of study in philosophy is the one that deals with the application of principles, such as, "Don't lie." The second deals with demonstrations, for instance, "How is it that we oughtn't to lie?" The third confirms and analyses the other two, for instance, "How is this a demonstration?" For what is a demonstration, what is logical consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood? The third area of study is necessary, then, because of the second, and the second because of the first, but the most necessary, and that on which we should dwell, is the first. But we do the opposite; for we spend our time on the third area of study, and employ all our efforts on that, while wholly neglecting the first. And so it comes about that we lie, while having at hand all the arguments that show why we oughtn't to lie. (Epictetus, Enchiridion 52.1, translated by Robin Hard)

​

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Additionally, here are some ancient and modern resource suggestions:

1. Epictetus, the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments
2. Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. What are some Stoic practices and exercises? from r/Stoicism's FAQ
5. The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
6. Practical Stoicism by Grey Freeman
7. Applied Stoic Theory - A Compilation by u/runeaway
8. Stoicism for a Better Life by u/yourusersmanual
9. Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments

​

If you would like to submit a post, please review the subreddit rules.

“A horse at the end of the race…

A dog when the hunt is over…
A bee with its honey stored…
And a human being after helping others.

They don’t make a fuss about it. They just go on to something else, as the vine looks forward to bearing fruit again in season.

We should be like that. Acting almost unconsciously.”

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (5.6)

When people help out others, Marcus said, a majority of them see it as a favor wherein the other person will be in ‘debt’ to them. Some may directly ask for the debt to be paid off, while others may not ask but continuously keeps in mind of the debt that has been incurred.

A minority of individuals, however, don’t expect anything in return whatsoever. And these are the people that Marcus Aurelius suggests to be.

Complimenting someone, holding the door for a stranger, teaching someone about a concept they don’t understand, or spending just a little bit of extra time to go out of your way for someone; all of these acts are examples of things we should do to help out those around us without expecting anything in return.

We were born to work together (Meditations, 2.1) and one of the components of working together is to help each other out - to aid them, assist, do favors for, etc… without the expectation of something received in return.

Similar to how a grapevine which produces fruit and is satisfied so long as the fruit is proper: we too, should replicate that of the grapevine. By doing so, we are fulfilling our natural duty to do good to others.

Help out others humbly. Be the grapevine that reproduces good fruit. Be kind for the sake of being kind, not for the sake of expecting a gift in return.

Cheers,
Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

Goooood morning. As aforementionned, I am no longer posting each individual episode of Stoicism for a Better Life in this sub (as it has expanded to other topics as well). Instead I will post a reminder and link to the Podcast every now and then. All past and present links can be found at stoicismforabetterlife.com

E05S06

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/andersonsilver/episodes/Season-6-Episode-5-105---ON-WHAT-STOICISM-WILL-ACTUALLY-BRING-YOU---Stoicism-For-a-Better-Life-Podcast-e2gvbbv

Your friend

Anderson Silver

“Aiming therefore at such great things, remember that you must not allow yourself to be carried, even with a slight tendency, towards the attainment of lesser things.”

~ Epictetus, Enchiridion (Chapter I)

In order to be the best version of ourselves, we have to act the best.

In order to be great, we need to act great. Even at the most minimal amount, as Epictetus said, we should never settle for lesser things.

Through the same passage, Epictetus broadly defined the act that we need to pursue in order to be great: figure out what is in your control. By figuring out what you control, you won’t be disturbed, you won’t forcibly do anything against your will, you won’t have enemies, you won’t blame anyone, and you won’t be harmed.

Striving for greatness, always, is a motto that reminds you of what you need to do in every situation. As simple as it may sound, and through the teachings of Stoicism from the likes of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, doing right in every situation means following the Stoic principles as best as we can.

Always work every moment of the day to apply these principles. Not working and allowing yourself the comfort of lesser things won’t allow you to progress to greatness - ie. happiness and freedom.

Aim higher. Reject lesser things. Aim to be great.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

~ Epictetus Fragments of Epictetus (CXXIV)

If you’re not happy with little, you won’t be happy with a lot. Seneca once attested to this statement by saying that the poor man is the one who endlessly craves more, and not the man with little material possession. And both Epictetus’ and Seneca’s passages mesh well together.

When you grieve for what you don’t have, you tend to crave more. Instead of being grateful for what you own, you desire that new piece of clothing, that new car, that new house, etc… But then once you actually get it, you’ll end up grieving for something else you want rather than rejoicing for what you have - a constant and never-ending cycle.

By showing gratitude and being content with what you have, you’ll prevent Stoic passions from ruling over your thought-process. You’ll become less envious, less jealous, and less greedy; all passions Stoicism denounces. And by removing these passions, you take one step closer to living a virtuous life.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy what you want to buy; but to make sure that it’s being bought with rational thought rather than through impulse or envy, and to further ensure that you’re grateful for whatever is being purchased and for what you have already.

Be content with your lot. Once you’re content, you’ll be grateful regardless of what you own and won’t allow jealousy or envy intrude into your mind.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“Therefore let us continually think as much about our own mortality as about that of all those we love…

‘My friend Serenus is younger than I; but what does that matter? He would naturally die after me, but he may precede me.’ It was just because I did not do this that I was unprepared when Fortune dealt me the sudden blow.

Now is the time for you to reflect, not only that all things are mortal, but also that their mortality is subject to no fixed law. Whatever can happen at any time can happen to-day.”

~ Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius (Letter 63, On Grief for Lost Friends

Within Stoicism, death is considered to be a part of Nature; as Nature flows, death, too, will soon arrive. As such, because of death being this natural occurrence, we should not fear it and instead, expect it. By expecting death, we won’t be surprised when it comes - and we’ll face it rationally and to the best of our ability, especially when the death of someone we cared for happens.

Seneca outlined in this Letter how it came to him as a total shock when his friend that was younger than him suddenly passed away. He was overcome by grief and was unable to control himself. And according to Seneca, this was all because it never occurred to him that his friend that was younger would pass before he did.

That’s not to say that one should not grieve whatsoever, in fact, the complete opposite: the Stoics advocated to feel grief. They advocated that grief is a natural part of life and as such, shouldn’t disregard it; however, to not let it get the best of us. We shouldn’t be emotionless when someone passes, but we also shouldn’t be overly distressed to the point where it controls us.

“We may weep, but we must not wail.” ~ Seneca (Letter 63)

Expect death to come. Death is an uncontrollable part of Nature and when it does happen, we should be prepared to handle the occurrence accordingly.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“Difficulties are the things that show what men are.

For the future, in case of any difficulty, remember that God, like a gymnastic trainer, has pitted you against a rough antagonist.

For what end? That you may be an Olympic conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.”

~ Epictetus, Discourses (Chapter XXIV)

When difficulties arise whether we like it or not, Epictetus says that the way in which we handle those difficulties shows who our character is. And by handling those difficulties effectively, we simultaneously conquer the task and improve upon our character. Improving upon the character is the bit I'd like to emphasize on here.

Following this passage, Epictetus provided an analogy that helps properly understand it in it’s entirety:

Imagine that people were randomly chosen to be messengers and that these people were sent to scout Rome to report any observations of anguish.

There would be 2 types of messengers: those who let fear and fright affect their perception and those who see things for what they are.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Both face the same difficulty; however, there are two outcomes. On one hand, the frightened messenger allowed his perception to be skewed due to his uncontrolled emotion, while on the other hand, the calm messenger saw Rome pragmatically.

Although this was simply an analogy, what does this tell us? It tells us that in difficult situations, humans will resort to the virtues they hold in their character. By repeatedly dealing with difficult situations, we have the opportunity to test the virtues we have - and even want.

• The difficulty may change — it doesn’t have to be about perceiving something.
• The task may change — it doesn’t have to be a scout in Rome (obviously).
• The virtue may change — it doesn’t have to be about control over our perception.

How we act is who we become. If we act with fear, we’ll be fearful. If we act with courage, we’ll be courageous. Our actions are in accordance with our character and virtues. And confronting difficult situations allows us to build upon that.

How we act today is how we’ll act tomorrow — so act virtuous today.

Cheers,
Adam

P.S. If you liked this write-up I wrote, I have a newsletter that dives deeper into Stoicism than just the surface-level of what people write about. Come check it out, I'll always love feedback :)

“The mind must be given relaxation; it will arise better and keener after resting.

As rich fields must not be forced - for their productiveness, if they have no rest, will quickly exhaust them.”

~ Seneca, On The Tranquility of the Mind (pg. 49)

There are times to persevere as Marcus Aurelius said in one of my previous posts, but there are other times where relaxing the mind is more beneficial otherwise.

Nowadays, Stoicism is wrongfully portrayed as the self-help Philosophy that advocates for constant working and non-stop grinding, but that’s not the case whatsoever. The Stoics, especially Seneca, advocated for rest; just as rich fields of crops should not be forced to produce constantly due to inevitable depletion, our mind should not be forced to always work as our productivity will be increasingly diminished.

For example, think about a time where you worked so hard that you just had to let your mind relax right after. What do you think would’ve happened if instead of resting - you just kept working? You can imagine that you’d be exhausted, tired, and not producing the best quality of work. And that’s why you still need to rest.

Work hard and persevere whenever you can, but rest when you’re exhausted or drained. Your mind will be refreshed, replenished of energy, and be ready to tackle the task with full quality the next time you face it.

Cheers,
Adam

If you liked this quick write-up I wrote about Stoicism, come check out of my other stuff! I'll always enjoy feedback from others :) My Previous Writeups/Newsletter

Unlike previous years, I won't post each episode here, but probably will go with a friendly reminder and link to the podcast. Enjoy and it's all about participation this year as episodes are replies to direct questions. #StoicismForaBetterLife

“No ordinary person will admit to being witless if asked whether he happens to be witless or wise; nor will he… Likewise if someone asks him whether he is self-controlled or self-indulgent, he answers upon being questioned that he is self-controlled.

What does this prove, other than that there is an inborn capacity in the human being’s soul for proper living and that the seed of virtue exists in each one of us?”

~ Musonius Rufus, Musonius Rufus: Lectures and Sayings (Lecture 2)

One lesser known Stoic that is not often mentioned when discussing Stoicism is Musonius Rufus. A lot of his texts have been lost from the past, however, there are still books about the notes his students made during his lectures.

Although there’s a lack of material, there’s quality over quantity. Musonius preached about a lot of different topics encompassing Stoicism, and one of which was the argument on why humans innately share virtue by nature.

Since most people prefer to answer that they are ‘not bad’, Musonius says that there is a natural desire for being good. Given the chance, mostly everyone would testify to being good, therefore proving there is a natural proclivity to good and virtue.

And that’s what we should try to aim for in our day-to-day lives; virtue. Musonius tells us that virtuosity is how humans innately want to live. And while he does not specifically mention it, other sources of Stoicism indicate that this virtuosity can be achieved through understanding and actively practicing the knowledge learned from the 4 cardinal virtues of temperance, justice, courage, and wisdom (which will be discussed in another post I will make shortly).

So instead of simply saying we live that way, we should instead take action and maintain living that way because it’s in our nature to do so.

If you liked this quick write-up I wrote about Stoicism, come check out of my other stuff! I'll always enjoy feedback from others :) My Previous Writeups/Newsletter

Cheers,

Adam

PS. I am u/BetwixtChaos - I just decided to switch up the name :)