Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.

~Marcus Aurelius

https://stoiczone.com/

Naive people are ignorant of what they should or shouldn’t do, and this vulgarity makes them vile and unjust. Ignorance doesn’t make acts unwilling or involuntary. To expect them to do no harm is madness; to expect them to harm others but not you, mad and savage, for that is to wish for the impossible.

It isn’t only naive to blame a situation rather than ourselves for not anticipating it, but also foolish to take responsibility for good acts but not for bad reactions. Let us straighten out warped thinking, just as you would with wooden planks. In any occasion, we must be wary of the naivete of blissful joy because we’re not impartial judges.

- Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius

"Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it."

• Marcus Aurelius

Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.

~Marcus Aurelius

https://www.stoiczone.com/

"Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul."

• Marcus Aurelius

"The first thing which philosophy undertakes to give is fellow-feeling with all men; in other words, sympathy and sociability."

• Seneca

Death smiles at us all; all we can do is smile back.

~Marcus Aurelius

https://stoiczone.com/

"There is no genius without a touch of madness."

• Seneca

The things you think about determine the quality of your mind.

~Marcus Aurelius

https://www.stoiczone.com/

Hey Guys, I wrote a medium article on one of the principles of stoicism from Marcus Aurelius Meditations. Here is the link to the article: https://medium.com/long-sweet-valuable/your-life-is-what-your-thoughts-make-it-5d5803e4e31d

If you don't have a medium account, use this link: https://medium.com/long-sweet-valuable/your-life-is-what-your-thoughts-make-it-5d5803e4e31d?sk=f4f06c6c59d3c907dbf81a1c383464e4

Curious to know your perspectives, thanks for reading.

"When one is busy and absorbed in one's work, the very absorption affords great delight; but when one has withdrawn one's hand from the completed masterpiece, the pleasure is not so keen."

• Seneca

We are weak, watery beings standing in the midst of unrealities; therefore let us turn our minds to the things that are everlasting.

~Seneca

https://www.stoiczone.com/

Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life."

~Marcus Aurelius

https://www.stoiczone.com/

"Inflicted."

• Seneca

https://youtube.com/shorts/SYL88YwiHas?feature=share

Nūllum magnum ingenium sine mixtūrā dēmentiae fuit No great talent without an element of madness.

~Seneca

https://www.stoiczone.com/

I'm currently reading Seneca's Letters From a Stoic for the first time, and I've come across a phrase I don't understand. I'm hoping someone can help me. I am going to italicize the phrase within the quote:

"All you need to do is advance; you will this understand that some things are less to be dreaded, precisely because they inspire us with great fear. No evil is great which is the last evil of all. Death arrives; it would be a thing to dread, if it could remain with you. But death must either not come at all, or else may come and pass away." - Seneca, Letters From a Stoic, chapter 4," On the Terrors of Death"

I don't understand why something is less to be dreaded because it fills us with fear?

"In an expression of true gratitude, sadness is conspicuous only by its absence."

• Marcus Aurelius

“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.

An ignorant person is inclined to blame others for his own misfortune. To blame oneself is proof of progress. But the wise man never has to blame another or himself.

~Epictetus

https://www.stoiczone.com/

"A little wisp of soul carrying a corpse.”—Epictetus."

• Marcus Aurelius

"Nero: "Am I forbidden to do what all may do?" Seneca: "From high rank high example is expected.""

• Seneca

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

~Epictetus

https://www.stoiczone.com/daily-stoic-quotes