Stoic Meditations

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134. It's either gods or atoms... Jun 15, 2018

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Marcus Aurelius reflects on what happens to us when we die: either we are absorbed in the seminal principle of the universe, or we become atoms scattered in the void. Either way, we still need to behave decently toward other human beings.

133. Ethics is a practice, so do it Jun 14, 2018

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Epictetus asks us a simple question: if we didn’t learn these things in order to demonstrate them in practice, what did we learn them for?

132. Moving will not help you, if your trouble is internal Jun 13, 2018

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Seneca tells Lucilius that moving to the other end of the world will not be helpful if his troubles are generated by his own attitudes, because he will carry the same person around the globe, if he doesn't address the real issue.

131. The truth does you no harm, but error does Jun 12, 2018

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Marcus Aurelius reminds himself of something that modern politicians need to pay attention to: if someone shows you that you are in error, the right thing to do is to admit it and learn from the other.

130. How Epictetus lost his lamp and the thief became a brute Jun 11, 2018

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Epictetus tells the story of a thief stealing his lamp at night, and reflects on what each of them lost in the process. He concludes that he came ahead of the thief.

129. Sound minds are hard to find, or buy Jun 08, 2018

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Seneca, with rather uncharacteristic sense of humor, says that one can't buy a sound mind, and even if that were possible, there would be no market for them.

128. Annoyed by people? It's an opportunity to practice virtue Jun 07, 2018

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Marcus Aurelius suggests we think of others as partners at the gym: don't hate or hold grudges against them, think of them as opportunities to improve your virtue.

127. Good judgments improve your character Jun 06, 2018

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Epictetus says that the way we improve our character is by paying attention and making good judgments, while if we keep making bad ones we make our character worse. So today reflect carefully on your decisions, and ask yourself what would Epictetus do.

126. I may become poor, then I shall be among many Jun 05, 2018

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Seneca lists the worst things that could happen to him, and that we all fear, and reminds himself that the only truly terrible thing is being a bad person who holds to bad values and makes bad decisions.

125. Always examine your assumptions Jun 04, 2018

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Musonius Rufus reminds us that we often act out of simple habit, without paying attention to what we are doing and why. Not the best way to proceed in life.

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