The Stoic Magazine Library

Seneca’s great work “Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium,” known in English as “Letters From A Stoic,” consists of 124 missives to Lucilius Junior, a younger friend and colleague.

In life you can sometimes feel stuck. What came before is done. It seems like there’s nothing ahead of you. Or perhaps you have a goal or dream but you don’t see how to get there from where you are; your progress is halted.

“Don’t just say that you’ve read books, show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person.”

I’m just unencumbered with the fear of death. This is one of the great gifts of Stoic freedom.

Our lives are made of precious, exclusive, limited edition Right Nows. By focusing on the present, we remain aware and engaged with our actions, judgments, and decisions.

There’s a persistent myth that we Stoics suppress our emotions and are impaired in our ability to feel and express love – that our approach to life is, who cares? We know that’s not true.  

It is up to me to make the most of my days. When anxiety, trivia, and reality TV shows threaten to make my mind full, I become mindful instead. Instead of rushing through things, I slow down. I go deep on one thing instead of scattering my attention across a dozen things.

Taking pleasure in everyday things

Using Stoic philosophy in everyday life will build resilience and prepare you for more extreme challenges.

Emotions are messengers. They are a source of inner wisdom that provides us with information about our experiences and the actions we need to take.

Seneca tells us that when a fiend dies, “We may weep, but we must not wail.” (Moral Letters, 63). I think for anyone, Stoic or not, grief is inevitable, but I did not let it overwhelm me.

Every time I let myself indulge in revenge theater, I make a donation to the food bank.

I prefer to be an upstander, someone who sticks up for others in the face of injustice, someone who takes action to lessen another’s suffering. The key to being an upstander is self-reliance.

Gratitude grows out of a conscious practice of being thankful, and it is sustained in habitual mindfulness.