After hearing author Ryan Holiday on a podcast, I was intrigued with his knowledge of Stoicism and just how the philosophy aligned with my core values. After purchasing The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living and Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius I decided to document my journey. Here I will share my anecdote while learning and reflecting on Stoicism and how I plan to apply it to my life.
“Let Fate find us prepared and active. Here is the great soul — the one who surrenders to Fate. The opposite is the weak and degenerate one, who struggles with and has a poor regard for the order of the world, and seeks to correct the faults of the gods rather than their own.”
- Seneca, Moral Letters, 107.12
“Fortune doesn't have the long reach we suppose, she can only lay siege to those who hold her tight. So, let's step back from her as much as possible.”
- Seneca, Moral Letters, 82.5b-6
“Don't be ashamed of needing help. You have a duty to fulfill just like a soldier on the wall of battle. So what if you are injured and can't climb up without another soldier's help?”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.7
“To the youngster talking nonsense Zeno said, ‘The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is so we might listen more and talk less.”
- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 4.3
“Every event has two handles — one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can't. If your brother does you wrong, don't grab it by his wronging, because this is the handle incapable of lifting it. Instead, use the other — that he is your brother, that you were raised together, and then you will have hold of the handle that carries.”
- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 4.3
“Don't you know life is like a military campaign? One must serve on watch, another in reconnaissance, another on the front line. … So it is for us — each person's life is a kind of battle, and a long and varied one too. You must keep watch like a soldier and do everything commanded. … You have been stationed in a key post, not some lowly place, and not for a short time but for life.”
- Epictetus, Discourses, 3.24.31-36