The Stoic Magazine Library

Dear friend,. this is a message of peace for you. You may be young or old, a woman or a man, poor or rich… 

Dear stranger... the things that seem to stand in our way, maybe they are here for us. Not against us.

Dear Friend, 

I write to you as a mere person. Neither as sage, prophet, saint, nor leader, I nevertheless have learned invaluable lessons for a life well-lived. I humbly offer them as an abbreviated ethical will. 

Dear friend, It is unlikely that we will ever meet but I want you to know that, according to Stoicism (the philosophy I follow), I can call you, a complete stranger, my friend. That remains true even if I am dead! Which I might be, especially if you open this bottle two hundred years from now (check the date above)!

As an infant, you're unable to speak and so can't question things logically. You follow your instincts and learn by copying people around you. 

Now that you have found this message in a bottle, I invite you to open your mind to a new way of looking at the world: through the perspective of Stoic philosophy. Stoic approaches can help you get through many challenges in life while cultivating your character.

Dear brother or sister, One substance and one law, one common Reason of all intelligent creatures, and one truth

It is one of my favorite thought experiments. We write something down, imagining that we put the note in the bottle and throw it into sea. Someday the bottle will be washed ashore on some unimaginable coast.

What circumstances might have led you, my dear friend, to read my message? 

It might seem quite random that you have found this bottle. It has drifted across seas, only for you to have now discovered it. How fortunate!

Dear Future Members of the Cosmopolis, You may or may not have heard of Stoicism. In case you haven't, I'm leaving this message for you, so that you may consider taking advantage of the immense benefits of this ancient philosophy of life.

How to live a good life? This classic philosophic question stands at the origin of the primary concern of Stoic philosophy: How to live one’s life, or how to master “the art of living.”
 

When things seem to fall apart

“Everything just feels like it’s falling apart, like we’re spinning out of control,” lamented an otherwise typically cheerful friend as we stared at each other over Zoom. “I’m tired of trying to fight the good fight. It used to seem like if I tried to be good and do good, it would make a difference. Now, I’m just tired.”

Stoicism is not indifferent

One of the biggest misconceptions about Stoicism is that indifference is the name of the game.

Stressed and struggling - Many adults today are stressed and struggling as they cope with the global pandemic and its consequences. Kids, too, have a lot of reasons to be upset. Frustration comes naturally to kids, especially when they are stuck in their homes subject to new rules and restrictions.