Simple Stoic Advice
You place in life
You place in life
The beautiful thing about Stoic philosophy is the advice contained within it is just as applicable today as it was when it was first written all those many years ago. We can learn a great deal from interpreting the advice provided and using it to our advantage as we go throughout our own lives.
Today’s quote comes to us courtesy of Seneca in his essay On Anger under the title How to Keep Your Cool:
Quote
“Soon we’ll spit out our life’s breath. For the moment, while we still draw it, while we’re in the human world, let’s cherish our humanity. Let’s not be a source of fear or danger to anyone. Let’s cast scorn on injuries, harms, insults, and taunts; let’s put up with brief annoyances. As they say, the moment we turn and look behind us, death stands right there.”
Advice
How do you want to live your life? Do you want to put forth positive things into this world or are you a zero-sum individual thinking the only way to win the game of life is to be victorious above the rest?
This is a question we must reflect on because our actions flow from our thoughts. Here, Seneca summarizes his final thoughts on what it means to use your life wisely. Reflecting on death, he repositions himself to put his actions to the betterment of society.
Rather than be a sore on the world, he says we should “not be a source of fear or danger to anyone.”
The Stoics believed that our actions should follow what is best for all of humanity, not just ourselves.
Marcus Aurelius reminds himself of this in his own Meditations:
“If it does not harm the community, it does not harm its members. When you think you’ve been injured, apply this rule: If the community isn’t injured by it, neither am I. And if it is, anger is not the answer. Show the offender where he went wrong.”
We have the ability to produce good into the world. We will inevitably face others who have have or want to produce anger, hatred, and turmoil. These are unavoidable within life and are outside of our control.
But we do not have to join them, we do not have to act as they do.
Will we be a sore on the world and those around us or will we take what’s left of our time here on earth and build those around us? Will we help society move in the direction to better humanity as a whole?
This is within our control. And the choice is ever so important as we never know how of our lives are left. Best to leave nothing unsaid.
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