Simple Stoic Advice
Keep Fears Close
Keep Fears Close
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 Epictetus and the Enchiridion, entry XXI:
Quote
“Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible, be daily before your eyes, but death chiefly; and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet anything.”
Advice
Let the truth of life be ever present in your mind. We have this life. We will one day leave this world. Things are often scary or horrendous to us because of our distance from them. When they do arrive, we do not know how to cope with them because we do not have the experience with them in order to cope. Keep your fears present. Listen to them. And through this, through the reminder of them, learn to be comfortable with them. It will strengthen you for the day they arrive.
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