2 Hours of Stoic Wisdom | A Journey to Inner Peace and Tranquility

life can be extremely stressful at times and this is basically because we are holding on to illusions of control and because our minds are overthinking and ruminating all the time in most cases holding on to things is a waste of energy and overdoing it causes a lot of mental and even physical pain now stoic philosophy has several different ideas that help with letting go one becoming aware of indifference in stoic ethics we can find the system of virtue Vice and so-called indifference now what most people seem to hold on to are preferred indifference so much

so that these have become the center of their Pursuit indifference are basically anything that isn't virtue or vice which means that they don't necessarily lead to misery but not to happiness either hence the indifference associated with these things among preferred indifference are wealth reputation material possessions basically the same things that epicus points out as not in our control now the thing is that these are not only beyond our control they don't lead to Lasting satisfaction even though the Mind thinks so also not having them will not obstruct our ability to be happy in regards to

the ancient stoic texts senica has some wise words to say about this Whoever has largely surrendered himself to the power of Fortune has made for himself a huge web of disquietude from which he cannot get free if one would win a way to safety there is but one road to despise externals and to be contented with that which is Honorable for those who regard anything as better than virtue or believe that there's any good except virtue are spreading their arms together in that which Fortune tosses abroad and are anxiously awaiting her favors end quote now

this quote is from a letter to his friend lucilius in the same letter he emphasizes that the mere grasping for externals will never get you the things that you've imagined to get in the first place the joy of externals is always temporary moreover greedy hands often end up with nothing but frustration so if we know that at the end of the day preferred indifference are simply overrated and that we can still be happy without them or with just the basic necessities we might stop chasing them so much or at least loosen the grip and know

that not having these things is not the end of the world isn't that a calming thought two remember impermanence the world is completely out of control life comes life goes Empires rise Empires fall and it's just a matter of time until planet Earth vanishes because the Sun swallows it the house we live in the money we have in the bank the people we love it's all going down anyway from this perspective we may see that it's kind of crazy to spend our lives attaching ourselves sometimes painfully to the world around us the preferred indifference that

I previously talked about not only fail to give us lasting satisfaction they do not last themselves either this is yet another reason why it's better to let go of them Emperor and stoic philosopher Marcus aelius observed that change and flux constantly create and recreate the world I quote we find ourselves in a river which of the things around us should we value when none of them can offer a firm foothold like an attachment to a sparrow we Glimpse it and it's gone and life itself like the decoction of blood the drawing in of air we

expel the power of breathing we drew in at Birth just yesterday or the day before breathing it out like the air we exhale at each moment end quote so we could propose ourselves the following lesson in the form of a question why hold on tightly to things that are in constant flux three residing in the present moment the Third Way refers to the human obsession with what's in the past and what's yet to come it's understandable because the past is a source of life lessons and the future is something we might want to plan for

the problem however is that some people live entirely outside the place where life is happening the present moment their worries about the future make them so uptight and sometimes paralyzed while the heavy burden of the past is resting on their shoulders Marcus Aurelius was aware of the human tendency to live outside the present moment I quote the present is the same for everyone its loss is the same for everyone and it should be clear that a brief instant is all that is lost for you can't lose either the past or the future how could you

lose what you don't have end quote so letting go in this case literally means letting go of what you don't have sure you have your thoughts about it in your mind but thoughts are the fabrication of the mind and don't represent the world around you they're mere Illusions fantasies calculations a mind is a great tool the stoics see rational thinking as a gift that sets humans apart from animals and makes it possible for us to live a life of virtue however it's important that we use the tools that we're given and not the other way

around it's funny to look at ourselves and see how we quarrel about the smallest things like the behavior of an annoying coworker during a meeting or the person who cuts his off in traffic from my own experience it's very easy to get dragged Along by a minor event in a way that a dog is obsessed with a stick we worry anxiously about the future and endlessly ruminate about the past but from a cosmic point of view how significant are the things that we invest so much emotional energy in really even though practicing stoicism can be

considered a very serious undertaking there's also a sense of looseness to find in the words of Marcus Aurelius when he speaks of the insignificance of our lives in relation to the bigger picture I quote the Earth will cover us all and then be transformed in turn and that too will change at infinitum and that as well at infinitum think about them the waves of change and alteration endlessly breaking and see our brief mortality for what it is end quote in these Eternal Cycles of life and death creation and Recreation we are even less than a

grain of sand in the Sahara Desert compared to what we are in the universe this doesn't take away that The Human Experience is intense and our senses are constantly tingled during our short lives on our tiny blue planet sometimes we get so entangled in a human drama that we experience emotional disturbances like anger and anxiety some people are obsessed with wealth and fame willing to make great sacrifices to get to the top While most likely their names will be forgotten a 100 years from now and even if you belong to the lucky few whose names

will be preserved throughout the centuries it's still insignificant when we look at it from a wider perspective considering the anthropic nature of the universe the Earth will disappear one day if we don't destroy it ourselves and the planet escapes the destruction by a meteor it will eventually be swallowed by the sun when it enters the red giant pH who cares then how much money you had in your savings account who won the Nobel Peace Prize even the bloody wars we humans have engaged in will become insignificant I quote Sena all things move in accord with

their appointed times they are destined to be born to grow and to be destroyed the Stars which you see moving above us and the seemingly immovable Earth to which we cling and on which we are set will be consumed and we'll cease to exist end quote the idea of our insignificance could lead some people to despair but it can also be a very calming thought the day-to-day problems that caused us so many headaches the constant striving for goals that we deem utterly important overanalyzing the past and future obsessive thinking about what should be and should

have been what if we could view all this from a distance and reduce it to what really is a mere dot in one of the countless Galaxy IES in the universe what foundation will be left for worry greed or anger the modern stoics have turned amusings about Humanity's place in the cosmos into an exercise called the view from above this exercise gives us a temporary break from our daily Affairs and puts them in another light changing our position towards external things changes the way we think about them which in turn changes how we feel it's

a stoic form of meditation to calm the mind you start the view from above by visualizing yourself within your close and direct environment it's like you are being watched through the lens of an advanced telescope that's placed thousands of light years away imagine an alien civilization that's able to observe Earth in real time looking at you sitting on a chair or lying in bed in your room now the telescope zooms out a little and focuses on your house then your neighor neighborhood you're already quite small in comparison to all the streets and other houses now

it looks at the city and its environment see how small you are it has become impossible to observe you with the naked eye then compared to the vast countries or oceans that surround the city it has become nothing more than a small dot the continents are spread around the globe which predominantly consists of oceans that hold vast areas that we haven't discovered yet Earth is only a small planet compared to the other planets like Neptune or Jupiter which in their turn are tiny compared to the sun the sun isn't really a big star compared to

let's say antaris which is 850 times its size both the Sun and antaris are part of the Milky Way which contains between 150 and 250 Billion Stars when the aliens turn the telescope away from our galaxy and direct it outwards it registers Millions even billions of other galaxies many even bigger than our own meditating on how small we are in the grand scheme of things how short our lives are and what we see as important matters less than we think is both freeing and humbling as emperor of Rome he was the most powerful man on

the planet yet as opposed to many of his successors and predecessors he aimed to live virtuously on a consistent basis he followed a philosophical school called stoicism part of stoic philosophy is the ability to keep a Calm Mind as a matter of fact the stoics believe that humans in a state of flourishing have attained true happiness which always goes together with inner peace needless to say Marcus Aurelius was a busy man man carrying the burden of leadership over an Empire and all the stress that comes from this his work meditations gives us an idea of

how he coped Marcus Aurelius is famous for his negative visualization which modern stoics use as a meditative practice to start the day I would like to focus on his lesser known teachings that we can use as practical advice for more tranquil lives the first one is very simple do less it's a no-brainer right in order to become calmer we should simply do less now it's important to mention that the stoics holds productivity in high regard as they see it as a virtue to be industrious on the other hand moderation is a virtue as well so

how exactly should we do less when we're supposed to be industrious Marcus AEL has observed that people do many things that aren't necessary in the current age we we have access to almost unlimited entertainment so it's very easy to get caught up in all kinds of nonproductive activities with doing less Marcus aelius also meant talking less many conversations are nonsensical lead to nowhere and only waste our time and energy so doing less means doing the essential and doing the essential not only means that we cut out the nonsense but also that we work more intelligently

and efficiently a big advantage that we gain from this besides Tranquility is that we can do less better doing the essential consistently takes a mindful approach I quote if you can eliminate it you'll have more time and more Tranquility ask yourself at every moment is this necessary but we need to eliminate unnecessary assumptions as well to eliminate the unnecessary actions that follow end quote a good habit that helps to stay focused on our daily Endeavors is making a list of tasks the night before this way we premeditate on what we have to do when we

get up in the morning which has a calming effect on the mind because when we design our days beforehand there's one less thing for the mind to worry about two short Escapes in another video I've explained that the stoics aren't too fond of traveling for recreational purposes and don't see it as a good way to seek Tranquility the reason for that is that wherever we go we take ourselves with us so the effects of traveling are only temporary thus as soon as the novelty subsides we'll be confronted with our own minds again Marcus aurelus was

critical of people seeking Refuge from daily worries by traveling or residing in quiet places like the mountains or beaches in his mind this was an idiotic thing to do because why should should we travel when we can get away by going within nowhere you go is more peaceful more free of interruptions than your own soul he said there's nothing wrong with changing scenery once in a while to facilitate our mental Retreats as long as we keep these escapes basic and brief what Marcus aelius proposed reminds me a lot of meditation or perhaps moments of reflection

and contemplation in order to renew ourselves so can calmly proceed our daily lives he gave us two things to ponder over if we choose to briefly retreat in our minds I quote one that things have no hold on the soul they stand there unmoving outside it disturbance comes only from within from our own perceptions and two that everything you see will soon alter and cease to exist think of how many changes you have already seen the world is nothing but change our life is only perception end quote which brings us to the next piece of

advice which is remembering that all shall pass the stoics are Infamous for remembering the frightening reality of life that it's going to end MTO Mori means the remembrance of death which is the ultimate acceptance that the changing nature of the universe also means the Decay and Vanishing of ourselves Marcus arus tells us to keep in mind how fast things passes by we can be immersed in something in one moment and in the next moment it could be something totally different Trends come and go in the blink of an eye and when we look at the

history of this planet human life is just a tiny little hiccup in this Cosmic Evolution the fact that everything is in flux could be a source of anxiety because nothing is stable and eventually we will be separated from our possessions and loved ones but it can be a source of calm as well the realization that everything is temporary means that there is no point in clinging to good times and being strongly adversed to bad times happiness is a relative thing even in prison there are good and bad days and even millionaires experience joy and suffering

this means that our inner World thus the way we perceive our life situation and how we react to that is also influx moreover we can influence how we react to change so why should Destiny concern us so much as Marcus Aurelius wrote The Infinity of past and future gapes before us a Chasm whose depths we cannot see so it would take an idiot to feel self-importance or distress or any indignation either as if the things that irritate us lasted it's quite easy to offend someone these days even me stating this observation can rub someone up

the wrong way in the age of social media we get bombarded with crude language opinions we don't like and stuff that's downright mean that's probably why we see an increase in language policing and censorship to some extent depending on the context this can be a good thing for example to protect minors but when it's going too far we can ask ourselves aren't we getting too thin skinned from a stoic point of view we're not offended by what we deem offensive but by our choice to be offended words of other people cannot hurt us unless we

let them senica the younger was a Statesman dramatist and seist but I think that most of us know him as one of the great stoic philosophers senica was concerned with the nature of insults and being offended he wrote down his thoughts on this matter in a work named the Constantia sapientes which is Latin for on the firmness of the wise man he criticized his friends arenas for wishing that people in general shouldn't offend each other according to senica this is completely unrealistic and not in our control instead we should aim for not being offended which

is in our control this brings us to the first piece of wisdom don't demand the world to be nice the world is full of people that are selfish insolent arrogant ignorant mean cruel and so forth this may sound pessimistic but it isn't far from the truth we cannot expect that people are nice to us all the time because they aren't humans possess the full range of emotions desires and mind States from Angry to Happy from compassionate to sadistic also there are as many opinions as there are people including opinions we don't agree with resisting this

is a recipe for disappointment and will lead us to get offended all the time by what's simply a product of nature demanding that the world doesn't offend us is futile because it's impossible to alter more than 7 billion people to our own liking as senica stated in a quote you are expressing a wish that the whole human race were inoffensive which may hardly be moreover those who would gain by such wrongs not being done are those who would do them not he who could not suffer from them even if they were done end quote now

even though we cannot demand that everyone will always be nice to us this doesn't mean that we should put up with people treating us badly we can set boundaries and choose to not spend time or at least limit our interactions with people that don't respect us but if we accept that people will be people including their darker sides we'll not only have a much easier time here on Earth we will also give our fellow human beings the right to exist and speak their minds two a accept the truth reject nonsense so in my book I've

made a proposition inspired by the work of senica on how to handle insults based on truthfulness with this method it is logically impossible to be offended before I continue let's take a look at what senica had to say about handling insults jokes and other stuff that people may throw at us I quote someone has made a joke about the baldness of my head the weakness of my eyes the thinness of my legs the shortness of my stature what insult is there in telling me that which everyone sees end quote now the approach is very simple

if someone offends you ask yourself if the thing that you feel offended by is truth or nonsense if it's truth why be offended by the truth or as senica States what insult is there in telling me that which everyone sees if it's nonsense why be offended by nonsense if someone throws nonsense at us isn't the person that does so the one who should feel ashamed instead of us three contemplate your ego senica noticed that for some reason people think that being insulted is one of the worst things that can happen I quote many think that

there's nothing more bitter than insult thus you will find slaves who prefer to be flogged to being slapped and to think stripes and death more endurable than insulting words end quote for your information being slapped was a grave insult in the time that senica lived he was a contemporary of Jesus Christ so it's no surprise that the Bible speaks about showing the other cheek after being slapped in this context slapped doesn't mean physical assault but rather an insult when we are insulted our ego is attacked this is a consequence of the story which tell ourselves

about ourselves and how the world should be that's why we see that in different cultures and subcultures people are offended by different things when something conflicts our story whatever that may be this could lead to feeling offended the questions we could ask ourselves are these why are we getting offended what's the root of this is it because of something that happened in the past is it because of a certain ideology is it because I've been culturally conditioned to be offended by this in my opinion it shows much more character if we try and seek the

root of our emotional reactions within ourselves instead of immediately finger point at the outside world our own faculty is our own responsibility and what other people think is none of our business we have two ears and one mouth so we should listen more than we say Zeno of cium around 300 BC Zeno of citium founded the stoic School of philosophy he published a list of works on ethics physics logic and other subjects including his most famous work zenos Republic which does sound quite similar to a dialogue authored by a philosopher named Plato despite Zeno being

the founder of stoicism and having written extensively he is hardly cited in modern stoic literature the reason for this is simple none of his Works have survived the good news is that other authors wrote about him biographer diogenes lerus preserved most details about his life including a series of fragments that give us an insight into what he taught there's no certainty about Zeno's ethnic and cultural background except that his nickname was The Phoenician and that diogenes described him as a Haggard dark skinned man his father gave him books about Socrates that he brought back from

his travels as a merchant and thus Zeno became obsessed with philosophy he became a pupil of the famous cynic crus of thus and among his other teachers were poimo and SBO later in life Zeno started teaching himself in the stoa poil his pupils were called zonian first but later became known as the stoics Zeno was concerned with the whole spectrum of stoic philosophy like logic epistemology and the nature of the universe which according to his view primarily consists of matter and is governed by a Divine principle God therefore isn't apart from the universe it is

the universe this is a quote by Zeno that Roman philosopher cisero preserved that which exercises reason is more excellent than that which does not exercise reason there's nothing more excellent than the universe therefore for the universe exercises reason end quote well that's a hell of a statement to ponder over it definitely lies at the basis of stoic belief that the universe is governed by an intelligent and primordial matter called logos which can also be called Universal reason or fate living a life according to reason therefore is living a life in accordance with nature this is

the underlying idea of amorfati which means the the love of fate in regards to ethics Zeno's view seems compatible with the later stoic definitions of them simply put virtue is the only good and as opposed to Virtue there is vice the end goal is reaching a state of udonia which is human flourishing and this can be achieved by the pursuit of virtue or as Zeno stated happiness is a good flow of Life a bit more detailed description of udonia we can find in the works of diogenes who quoted Zeno as follows the end may be

defined as life in accordance with nature or in other words in accordance with our own human nature as well as that of the universe end quote Zeno also L the foundation for the system of indifference things that aren't necessarily good or bad but can nevertheless contribute to self-preservation or destruction he saw the human tendency for self-preservation as a part of human nature which isn't virtuous on its own but could contribute towards one's efforts towards it this sets the stoics apart from the cynics who rejected possessions and everything that befalls the body according to stoicism indifference

do have value and we should pursue them but not cling to them as possessions that will make our life better but as a catalyst for living in agreement with nature for example wealth itself doesn't lead to virtue but it does lead to self-preservation which can assist in the pursuit of virtue another example sickness doesn't lead to Vice but it is not a preferable thing because its destructive nature goes against self-preservation Zeno also stated that bad feelings are commotions of the Mind repugnant to reason and against nature so even though emotions are human they are a

sign of simply put bad reasoning and could be overcome by getting a clear understanding of how life Works grievance because of death could be overcome by accepting that death is a natural and inherent part of life and our frustrations with bad parents could be overcome by the knowledge that at the end of the day no one is entitled to good parents we see that all these misfortunes happen according to Natural laws which are fundamentally reasonable about Zeno's death there's no con sensus as different sources tell different things also it is impossible to know what Zeno

really thought because none of his Works survived some say that his contributions to stoic philosophy as we know it were of high significance While others believe that other philosophers like cleanthes and chrispus were responsible for the actual development of stoicism and Zeno's role as founder is more of a symbolic one nonetheless he remains a key figure in the history of stoicism even though they followed the same philosophy Marcus Aurelius was an emperor and epeus was a slave the fact that someone from the lowest class became one of the greatest stoic philosophers indicates that stoicism isn't

just for the elite it's for everyone part of stoic philosophy is the ability to keep a cal mind as a matter of fact the stoics believe that humans in a state of flourishing have attained true happiness which always goes together with inner peace The Works of epicus reveal the importance of tranquility and that we should value this over lesser things like money reputation and even the body he tells us that a calm mind is not achieved by trying to alter and control our surroundings it's achieved by the way we think the main work of epicus

is called discourses a collection of lectures that were written down by a pupil named Aran this same pupil also compiled the anoran which means handbook and is quite easy to read and digest in these sources we can discover how epicus thought about coping with daily worries stressful events and hardships so we can keep a Calm Mind regardless of what the world throws at us let's start with the first one act in accordance with nature when epicus was teaching one of his students taught him that he wanted to go home because he was sick epicus then

sent him home but also asked his student whether or not he thinks that with his condition he is able to improve his moral purpose and thus him coming to class was the right thing to do he said go back and tend your Affairs at home for if your governing principle cannot be brought into Conformity with nature no doubt your poultry piece of land can be made to conform with it end quote the lesson we take from this is that we should do what the current situation asks from us whatever overcomes us is the way of

the universe there's no need to force things so when we are sick we shouldn't force ourselves to do things we cannot do in many cases the best way to treat an illness is by accepting it and doing what's best for us in that given moment sure epicus also stated that illness is a hindrance to the body but not to our ability to choose which doesn't mean that we should force ourselves to perform our duties which might only make it worse it means that despite the physical hindrance we still can choose to Panic or to make

rational choices in a more tranquil fashion when we look at a pandemic for example we see two extremes on one end there's Panic on the other end there's this complete nonchalance in the first case people are overtaken by fear and emotion and in the second case people refuse to see the problem and perhaps try to make themselves look tough but acting in accordance with nature meaning the nature of the universe as well as our human nature starts by acknowledging the situation doing proper research and taking the necessary measures while keeping a cool head no matter

how we choose to react it's important to remember that sickness and death are simply part of nature we all go someday which brings us to the next one watch your judgment anxiety isn't caused by the environment it's caused by the position we take towards the environment we all have our frames of reference and from that frame we decide what we tolerate and what we don't tolerate there's nothing wrong with that often times it serves a purpose to discern right from wrong however our judgments become a problem if they make us feel entitled to things that

we're naturally not entitled to for example we can be angry for a lifetime because we feel entitled to good parents we never had but epicus points out that we are not entitled to a good parent just to a parent and this is true for many things so why should we feel distressed by the things that are entirely natural I quote distinguish within your own mind and be prepared to say it's not the accident that distresses this person because it doesn't distress another person it is the Judgment which he makes about it end quote again this

is important when we Face illness or death these things are nothing new they are part of nature as much as war and violence and should rather be approached with Equanimity than strong aversion moreover when we don't carry strong desires and aversions we're more capable of dealing with the situation in a rational way than when we are led by irrational thoughts and emotions three Focus Less on things outside of your control control at the beginning of the anchor ridian we'll find the famous dichotomy of control which is a Cornerstone of stoic thinking it emphasizes that some

things are up to us and others are not and that we ought to focus on the former and have contempt of the L as living creatures in this universe we have to deal with what's around us we might desire to control the outside world perhaps by money a position of power physical strength intelligence or intimidation but at the end of the day these are just instruments that can influence but never control and even if we do manage to control some things there's always a billion of other things that slip out of our hands what we

do control according to Aus is our own faculty and that's what we should focus on what happens around us isn't that important it's more important what we do with it therefore we can choose to focus our attention on our own thoughts and emotions rather than constantly worrying about stuff we can't do much about anyway this doesn't mean that we close ourselves off completely it means that we develop a healthy indifference towards outside events so that they won't stress us out too much this is where amorfati the love of Fate comes in because is there a

better way to deal with the unavoidable than to embrace it when a crisis is upon us how can we deal with it in a stoic way when we look ATO stoic literature we'll find some good advice that we can apply during times of hardship crisis come in many different forms we can have personal crisis on a micro level but we can also be faced with a global crisis that hits us all the nature of Crisis is that we are temporarily in a different state often characterized by danger and with an acute need of measures and

solutions being in a crisis doesn't have to affect our behavior in a bad way in fact as opposed to what's happening around us we're still in control of our own actions this doesn't remove the fact that crises can be highly stressful and cause many to suffer Marcus Aurelius endured many hardships during his reign as leader of the most powerful Empire in the world he faced War but also the plague that broke out in the East which eventually caused the death of 5 million Romans among the victims was Lucius ver was not only Marcus arus adoptive

brother but also reigned with him as co-emperor in his meditations a theme that Marcus aelius frequently writes about is the human connection between each other and nature in a crisis that affects lots of people the awareness of our connectedness is key when it comes to coping supporting each other and finding Solutions hence the first one working together playing your part as most of you know by now stoicism isn't about becoming an emotionless Rock it's about virtue and part of virtue is acting for the benefit of the world and Humanity Marcus aurelus emphasizes that we're interdependent

and therefore we're not supposed to be egotistical Hermits that only think of themselves it's appealing I know especially living in a free and individualistic society in which we can go our own ways but when a is hits we're again reminded of how much we rely on external factors like technology and other people the structures we are living in are threatened and when the system fills us we will be condemned to each other again on a more primitive level hence in crisis it's particularly important to recognize our connection and set our egos aside to help a

fellow human and rely on our ability to forgive and tolerate instead of solely engaging and selfish Pursuits as Marcus Aurelius wrote in his meditations we're born to work together like feet hands and eyes like the two rows of teeth upper and lower to obstruct each other is unnatural to feel anger at someone to turn your back on him these are obstructions end quote two doing what you can accepting what you can't now when we deal with our fellow humans we'll undoubtedly be confronted with people that are selfish irrational emotional mean violent greedy hostile Etc some

people are in full panic mode and go overboard when it comes to taking measures to protect themselves with their heightened survival instincts their main focus is self-preservation there's nothing wrong with self-preservation of course but when it becomes an obsession it may damage those around us and only worsen the situation this is especially true for those that see the crisis as an opportunity to screw people over and make some big bucks out of it but it's essential to remember that we only control our own actions we cannot control how people behave and whether or not they

flout the measures necessary to improve the situation we cannot control various aspects of the crisis itself and how everything plays out therefore we rely on our own thinking capacity to navigate ourselves through the crisis regardless of how it unfolds it's up to us how we act and to act despite the actions of others is all we can do three adapting to the new situation whether we like it or not times have changed and during a crisis we play by different rules when we're stuck in our routines for so long and have taken our lifestyles and

the Comforts of society for granted a crisis can be a very humbling experience things that seem seem so normal and stable have suddenly become very uncertain the economy takes a hit with all consequences necessary measures to fight the crisis lead to the disruption of our daily Affairs it shows us that we despite our technological advancements are still very vulnerable and that our well-being isn't self-evident especially in times of turmoil we're forced to do an appeal on our ability to adapt to do this it's essential to accept the change nature of the universe so we can

let go of the past and things we took for granted and focus on the present and make the best out of it I quote change and flux constantly remake the world just as the incessant progression of time remakes eternity we find ourselves in a river which of the things around us should we value when none of them can offer a firm foothold like an attachment to a sparrow we Glimpse it and it's gone end quote work together do what you can accept what you can't and adapt that's in a nutshell how we can be stoic

in a crisis worse than war is the very fear of War Sena human history has never been free from adversity events like War the outbreak of plagues and natural disasters have caused Dark Times tainted by suffering and death without a doubt the ancient stoics had their fair share of hardship and the difficulties of Life are the core of their philosophies in hard times of great uncertainty many people start worrying about their stable comfortable lives falling apart which is not only realistic sometimes it's inevitable the prospect of undergoing significant changes by the hands of Misfortune not

knowing where this change leads to can be nerve wrecking the stoics had some profound things to say about dealing with external circumstances and how to live peacefully in the facee of hardship and a troubled future living in a society in which Mass consumption is the norm and companies brainwash us into believing that we need their products to feel complete the distinction between what we truly need and what's obsolete has become invisible in wealthy countries people rarely concern themselves with their basic needs because these are a given but when hard times are knocking on our door

it's time to create Clarity decide what our priorities are and learn to deal with uncertainty first of all it's essential to remember the dichotomy of control and to be constantly aware of the fact that we only control our own actions according to epicus things like our body property and reputation are not up to us when the economy declines for example there isn't much we can do about it we could lose a lot of money in the stock market our jobs and thus our income but from a stoic point of view by tying our happiness to

these things in the first place we have already set ourselves up for disappointment as ABA stated and I quote the things in our control are by Nature free unrestrained unhindered but those not in our control are weak slavish restrained belonging to others remember then that if you that things which are slavish by Nature are also free and that what belongs to others is your own then you will be hindered end quote now the stoics make a distinction between virtue Vice and indifference virtue and vice correspond with our own actions for example doing something for the

benefit of the community like providing food to the poor and elderly can be considered virtuous and trying to sell necessary goods for exorbitant prices can be considered a vice but indifference are neither good or bad examples of these are wealth Health disease weakness and poverty in short indifference are external circumstances that are beyond our control now why is this important well what characterizes difficult times is that these indifference are threatened but not our ability to act does that mean that we shouldn't care about these external things at all not necessarily as we need at least

some of them to survive however when we are facing hard times we might want to reconsider what we truly need basic needs like food and shelter for example so we can let go of the rest and stop worrying about them on the verge of economic collapse how important is it really to possess all kinds of luxurious goods and to what extent does social status bring food to the table and protects us from an illness that doesn't discriminate between rich and poor the more we are attached to these externals the more we are disturbed by the

prospect of losing them another essential stoic lesson concerns death and suffering this may sound blunt but at the end of the day death and suffering are part of nature in the west this is kind of taboo death is seen as something negative something tragic and needs to be avoided at all costs and our comfortable lives minimize the amount of pain and suffering as much as possible but in hard times we might want to consider that no one is entitled to a long and healthy life the history of our planet is a bloody one animals and

humans kill each other every day children die at Birth and the Black Death killed half of Europe's population why should we modern humans have the right to be spared by the ways of nature Mento Mori means the remembrance of death by reminding ourselves that death and suffering are inescapable and inherent parts of life we might find some Tranquility in the idea that the worst things that can happen to us are actually quite natural like Socrates senica died peacefully moreover he saw relief in death I quote death is a release from and an end of all

pains Beyond it are suffering cannot extend it restores us to the peaceful rest in which we lay before we were born if anyone pies the dead he ought also to pity those who have not been born end quote a final piece of stoic advice for finding a sense of calm and adversity is to remind ourselves that we do not control our destiny we can influence the future by our actions in the present but the results are so dependent on external circumstances that it's impossible to guarant guantee a certain outcome the economy may fall apart we

may lose our jobs Mass poverty May kick in and huge numbers of people may pass away and no single worry can change that so why don't we allow ourselves to just let go of the burden of the future knowing that whatever happens we are in full control of the most powerful weapon available our own faculty if we can cope with death we can also cope with life life the good news is that everything is in flux and born out of change like night and day and fall and spring so this too shall pass history has

shown us that people have endured the hardest of times and that this experience often made them more humble more Humane and more grateful for Life thus every outcome has its positive side and regardless of what the future brings no one takes away your power to make the best of it how should we act when people around us are panicking and how can we avoid panicking ourselves Panic gets us nowhere as it is a state of emotional turmoil during which our rationality is thrown overboard so when we're faced with a wide variety of opinions the strong

language of influencers and decisions based on fear and greed it can be difficult to find direction and maintain course but during times of mass hysteria it's essential to use our capacity for rationality from a stoic point of view our decisions should be based on facts and logic and our actions have to be in the interest of the common good in times of hardship it's not an unnecessary exercise to fortify our minds with philosophical ideas so we don't slip into the Trap of panic Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius had some valuable insights on how

to strengthen the mind so we don't deviate from the right path now let's start with the second question as it paves the way to answering the first one how can we avoid panicking ourselves to navigate our minds back into Tranquility it is important to become aware of the nature of what we are panicking about and also the reasons why we panic in his meditations Marcus Aurelius mentions that no matter what happens it is something that has happened before when we are ruled by the issues of the day we lose sight of the bigger picture so

what unfolds in a moment may seem totally new and alien in a way this is true because nothing that happens now takes place in the past however when we look at historical accounts we see that they are filled with the same old same old Marcus aurelus shifts the Paradigm by pointing out that life is simply history repeating itself so we could say that we experience the same archetypal storylines over and over again just with different characters and in different formats lost all your money your job millions of people are going through the same thing as

we speak and have been in the past is the world ravaged by the plague we had the Spanish Flu the Black Death SARS Ms Humanity has gone through many different crises individual people have faced a lot of hardship in their lives there have been good times and bad times and we have gone through peace and War history taught us that this mechanism never changes as long as we exist it is simply life manifesting the same patterns everything is transient like yin and yang so why do we panic when it's just another manifestation of the same

probably because the thing we Panic about disguised itself as something unprecedented it triggers our f of the unknown while in reality it has happened many times before what's new and scary now will be old and familiar tomorrow that's because we are adaptable creatures who can change along with the transient nature of the universe so to keep a cool head when things around us start to change quickly we might want to repeat the following quote by Marcus Aurelius no matter what happens keep this in mind it's the same old thing from one end of the world

to the other it fills the history books ancient and modern and the cities and the houses too nothing new at all familiar transient end quote all comes down to seeing things as they are as much as possible and doing the right thing based on rationality and not based on fear thus in a crisis we ought to prepare but not overdo it especially when it undermines the community Marcus aelius emphasizes repeatedly that we should work together and act conformably to our own nature and the nature of the whole or as he puts it to do what

the community needs done when we Panic we are often inclined to act unintelligently and in ways that only make things worse or Overlook the things that actually need to be done that's why it's essential to keep calm in the facee of adversity because if we don't we can screw things up in the case of a virus outbreak for example instead of trying to be the hero of the day it's probably much better to Simply stay at home also we may want to keep in mind that the media are companies motivated by profit so they recreate

an inflate Reality by constantly focusing on certain topics that attract attention when we expose ourselves to the media all day we become deluded because we start to believe that there's nothing else going on in the world besides disaster and this is not true so instead it's better to focus on our direct environment something that we can actually influence and see how we can do something beneficial thus don't try to change the things you cannot change now when it comes to dealing with panicking people staying calm in the heard is much easier when our own faculties

are strong if we are determined and don't let ourselves be carried away by our irrational thoughts and emotions we become towers of strength that are immune to all compulsion like for example the cravings for toilet paper even when world leaders Act irrationally and the things they say don't make any sense or when hostility and violence dominate the streets and people scream bloody murder Marcus aelius would probably advise us to not engage and to calmly do what the situation asks of us I quote let them scream whatever they want let animals dismember this soft flesh that

covers you how would any of that stop you from keeping your mind calm reliably sizing up what's around you and ready to make good use of whatever happens end quote at the end of the day what people around us are doing is not up to us if they feel that Panic is the answer we can only change their minds if they are open to Alternatives but when they aren't we'll only waste time trying in such cases we are better of preventing ourselves to go along with their Panic so we maintain our inner peace I quote

the Tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say or think or do only what you do not to be distracted by their Darkness to run straight for the finish line unswerving there's a big difference between having fortitude and hiding away in a fortress in the latter case we physically separate ourselves through self-isolation often times this is an attempt to hide from the big bad things in the world it's not unlikely that serial self isolators suffer from feelings of powerlessness believing that's what's happening outside is too much for them as they lack the strength

and skill to cope Unfortunately they miss out on many life experiences simply because they do not want to face the malevolence of humankind now there's another way to go about this instead of self-isolation we could choose to strengthen our faculties meaning that we become more resilient to towards unpleasant people and situations and don't let them stop us from living a good life what exactly does fortitude mean the definition of fortitude according to online dictionary Mariam Webster is strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage stoic fortitude

therefore is the art of strengthening the mind with stoic principles so we become less inclined to hide away in our fortresses and live life more fully the stoics were Masters at approaching the world with logic and reason showing us that many external things are actually Unworthy of our attention other people's opinions aren't as important as we think and a good reputation is just a commodity that brings us from point A to point B according to the stoics we can't change the world but we can change our mindset and thus the position we take towards the

world with the right mindset we can overcome any adversity of course this isn't easy it takes a lot of practice so how can stoic principles transform our mindset first of all we might have certain beliefs that evoke irritation in US sometimes so much so that it becomes a difficult task to merely live thus not life itself but our beliefs about how life should and shouldn't be are the cause of our pain the logic behind this is that we tie our happiness to certain expectations so when these expectations repeatedly do not come to fruition because they

don't align with an undeniable and inevitable reality we suffer an example of this we can find in a letter that stoic philosopher senica wrote to his friend serenus serenas wished that people wouldn't treat each other with rudeness and Scorn but explained to him that this is the wrong way to look at it I quote you are expressing a wish that the whole human race were in offensive which may hardly be moreover those who would gain by such wrongs not being done are those who would do them not he who could not suffer them even if

they were done end quote thus by changing how we look at the world we relieve ourselves from the pain of resistance life is full of pain and full of people that are rude selfish and violent the less we resist this fact the more we can face the world in a tranquil manner in his work of Peace of Mind senica argued that we cannot live well if we don't know how to die well if we know that death is the Fate that was laid upon us the moment we were born we will live according to it

this realization adds to our mental fortitude knowing that we could die any time nothing can be fall us unexpectedly I quote for by looking forward to everything which can happen as though it would happen to him he takes the sting out of all evils which can make no difference to those who expect it and are prepared to meet it evil only comes hard upon those who have lived without giving it a thought and whose attention has been exclusively directed to happiness disease captivity disaster conflagration are none of them unexpected I always knew with what disorderly

company Nature has Associated me end quote we'll continue with epicus epicus teaches us the foundation of mental fortitude which is the curbing of our desires and aversions most people that go into the world desire certain outcomes this isn't necessarily a bad thing but such a stance has its consequences I quote he is making making progress Having learned from philosophers that desire means the desire of good things and aversion means aversion from bad things Having learned too that happiness and Tranquility are not attainable by man otherwise they might not failing to obtain what he desires and

not falling into that which he would avoid such a man takes from himself desire altogether and defers it but he employs his aversion only on things which are dependent on his will end quote this very much applies to everything we do as abas States in his work the anidan things beyond our control are weak and slavish and if we let our mood depend on things that are not up to us we find ourselves in quite a feeble position therefore according to epicus we should be indifferent towards anything independent of our own will because if we

aren't we let external factors rule over our ability to be happy mental fortitude therefore untils a healthy contempt for the things beyond our control things we normally approach with desire and aversion this means ceasing to desire that people like you ceasing to be averse to losing your possessions and focusing entirely on your own actions epicus goes as far as to say that we should even wish to be ridiculed despised and come off as losers if that preserves our peace of mind I quote you must watch you must labor you must get a better of certain

appetites must quit your acquaintance be despised by your servant be laughed at by those you meet come off worse than others in everything in magistracies in honors in courts of judicature when you have considered all these things round approach if you please if by parting with them you have a mind to purchase equinity freedom and Tranquility end quote the next one is Crispus who is often regarded the greatest of all stoics cipus made great contributions to stoic philosophy particularly in regards to the stoic system of propositional logic he was quite an industrious man having written

more than 700 volumes unfortunately none of them survived cipus further expanded on the sto system of ethics and follow the idea that living a happy life is the end goal which all of our actions should be geared towards and to reach this goal we should examine the universe to find out what's good and bad or how we put it to live in accordance with one's experience of the things which come about by Nature from this view the stoics gave birth to a system that differentiates between virtue Vice and everything that's in between between and concluded

that living virtuously means living happily and living viciously means living unhappily one of the Cardinal stoic virtues is courage as opposed to cowardice which the stoics consider a vice courage can be considered an essential element of building stoic fortitude often times the path of virtue requires us to face our fears and go through pain instead of avoiding it Courage allows us to make the right choices and reach our goals despite the obstacles that lay on our path typical everyday VI are quick fixes using substances immoderately or replacing challenging tasks by easily digestible Pleasures are ways

in which we cow away from difficult situations the problem is that viices bring shortterm pleasure that is immediately followed by the misery of not reaching our long-term goals or gambling away opportunities we're too afraid to take and the inevitable low that follows from doing something that isn't good for us and our environment which often manifests in shame and guilt virtue on the other hand may involve temporary discomfort but the long-term satisfaction we gain is absolutely worth the struggle therefore we could see virtue as a star in the sky that we continuously aim for and by

anchoring ourselves in a goal that transcends pain and pleasure it's much easier not to falter in the face of adversity this mindset requires an indifference towards the external situation we're in not letting it overshadow our faculty of choice thus we focus primarily on our own actions and whether or not they are virtuous what's happening around us comes secondary as it's a matter of Faith which is beyond our control I quote if I knew that it was fated for me to be sick I would even wish for it for the foot also if it had intelligence

would volunteer to get muddy end quote sickness to the body or whatever else may overcome us doesn't impede our ability to act according to the stoics what happens is how Nature has intended it to be so we shouldn't wish for things to happen differently instead we should accept it and do what's best in that given situation this accepting position towards fate and how this benefits fortitude brings us to the next stoic philosopher and once emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius as the leader of the world's largest Empire Marcus Aurelius knew exactly how harsh life can be

Rome was not only a continuous war with its enemies it was also struck by the plague and on top of that Marcus suffered various illnesses and a betrayal by his wife fosa also to cope with all the difficult people he faced on a daily basis he invented a stoic exercise called the negative visualization that fortifies the Mind by adjusting our expectations in the 11th book of his meditations Marcus encourages himself to live virtuously without being stopped by the people that stand in his way not everyone wants the best for us and some try to sabotage

us but regardless of what they do for our faults as they are unable to affect our ability to choose thus we are responsible for our own choices I quote someone despises me that's their problem mine not to do or say anything despicable someone hates me their problem mine to be patient and cheerful with everyone including them ready to show them their mistake not spitefully or to show off my own self-control but in an honest up Right Way end quote to summarize senica advised us to let go of our ideals about how the world should be

and instead take it how it is also he told us that we cannot live well if we don't know how to die well thus we shouldn't close our eyes for Misfortune instead we should expect it and see it as a part of life epicus told us that the things beyond our control are weak and slavish so they unreliable fact factors to base our happiness upon it's better to be indifferent towards anything independent of our own will these things are inferior to what's truly in our power our own actions cipus the greatest of all stoics further

developed the stoic system of Ethics showing us that a happy life is a virtuous life courage is one of the cardinal virtues meaning that we must be willing to endure discomfort and face our fears in order to live well if if we choose to engage in vices instead we may experience shortterm pleasure but this will lead to unhappiness in the long run Marcus Aurelius wrote in his meditations that no matter how severe the external circumstances are they won't impede our ability to choose therefore we can't blame other people for our faults we are responsible for

our own choices the less we care about the things that don't matter the stronger our determination will will be in Greek philosophy we can distinguish several human states of mind and being that can be acquired by correct philosophical understanding as well as the pursuit of virtue the main goal of a stoic is to live in accordance with nature such existence manifests itself in what the stoics call udonia which is the flourishing of Life integral parts of udonia are ataria and apatha the letter is the term that the stoics prefer the different helenic philosophical schools didn't

always agree on what the ultimate Pursuit is and how to pursue it we can see differences between stoicism and for example Buddhism as well when it comes to Enlightenment while in Buddhism Nirvana is the freedom of suffering that is attained by walking the eight-fold path in stoicism it's a state of flourishing called udonia we can attain udonia by living virtuously and we can't have it with without apatha and ataria I'll start with apatha first in short apatha is the freedom of passs it's not the same as apathy which has kind of a negative connotation to

it it's not the same as indifference either the best way to translate apatha is equanimity the stoics distinguish four passions Lupe Phobos epithumia and hon Lupe means distress which is an emotional reaction linked to a value judge ment of something that's not in our control for example you've lost your job you think losing a job is a bad thing which can lead to even more bad things like poverty a bad reputation social isolation Etc the thoughts about this event not the event itself cause distress Phobos means fear fear leads to avoidance a person who is

afraid to talk to people for example will avoid social events and when a person who fears spiders encounters a tarantula an intense emotional reaction will follow epithumia means lust or Cravings we can lust after people food and even objects which happens to people with fetishes it's a strong desire for something external this also means that the object of our desire has a certain power over us and thus can manipulate our actions we see this in relationships or marriages in which the act of sex is used as a tool to get things done hun means Delight

Delight is a bit more subtle than lust it means that we take pleasure and enjoyment in things that happen but in an irrational way the problem with delight is that it can often lie at the basis of evil for example we can take Delight in our neighbor's Misfortune and a sadist takes Delight in someone's pain but also the Delight in food if we realize that food has essentially the purpose of rtion is there anything virtuous about indulging in the pleasure of the tongue pursuing these kinds of irrational Pleasures is not conformable to Nature according to

the stoics the stoics believe that the freedom of these unhelpful passions characterizes the emonic state now it's also possible to transform our shadow of unhealthy passions into healthy passions if we first acknowledge them in ourselves and see them as opportunities for change fear can be transformed into CAU which helps us to stay on the right path lust can be transformed into wishing in this case wishing the right things Delight can be transformed into Joy enjoying virtue in others and ourselves now the second one is ataria ataria is similar to apatha but there are differences ataria

also refers to tranquility and equinity in this case the freedom of worry and distress the state of ataria is not a goal in stoicism but rather a byproduct of living in accordance with nature the epicurian however do have ataria as an end goal since their philosophy revolves around moderately experiencing pleasure while avoiding pain this avoidance of pain also means the avoidance of certain Elements of Life that cause distress like political life this is where the stoics and the epicurian don't agree on because according to the stoics we should be useful for iety which includes sometimes

taking the difficult position of a Statesman instead of letting our Peace of Mind depend on external things the stoic seeks to flourish in pursuing virtue constantly practicing virtue produces ataraxia as a byproduct also transforming bad passions into good passions will be followed by ataria so a crucial difference between ataria and Epatha is that ataria was an end goal for the epicurian but not for the stoics the stoics acknowledge this term but prefer Epatha to describe a mind State similar to ataria in stoicism both ataria and apatha are seen as a byproduct of virtue this takes

us to the next term udonia udonia is the ultimate state in stoicism and equals life in accordance with nature we could translate udonia into happiness but I don't think that's enough because there are so many explanations of happiness that the term has become a bit vague living in accordance with nature is vague to most people as well in short with nature the stoics consider human nature as well as the nature of the whole when they formulated their philosophical system the cynics for example could be considered a bit extreme and they have little regard for the

notion that humans are naturally inclined to pursue things that aren't necessarily bad like wealth friendship and intimacy so a stoic would say that abstaining from things like food or shelter is not the path to happiness and does not equal virtue per se they actually sought to unify human nature with philosophy so that the one wouldn't block the path of the other when we look at stoic virtue we can see that virtue and vice are independent of ones for example Financial State virtue can be subdivided into moderation courage Justice and wisdom Vice can be subdivided into

intemperance cowardice Injustice and foolishness instead of deliberately seeking peace and quiet or trying to get rid of unhealthy passions the stoics propose to follow virtue and avoid Vice simply put udonia is the goal and ataria and apatha will come naturally when achieving that goal udonia isn't just a feeling of bliss it's the morally virtuous engagement with Society and life in general in ways that benefit all the ability to do this does not depend on external factors like how much money or friends you have or sickness or health so it can be achieved by anyone who

is willing to improve people spend so much energy on worrying about what other people think about them the thing is it's a huge waste of time especially in the age of the individual the ancient stoics were ahead of time when it comes to the art of not caring about how others perceive them it's very easy to get caught up in this ongoing Collective worry about what other people think and say about us even if we don't know them Marcus Aurelius was right when he said that we care more about their opinions than our own but

why do we do this well our desire to be liked probably comes from a deeply rooted fear of being abandoned in the tribal age abandonment could easily mean death so being liked was useful for survival we can see this in animals as well dogs for example are herd animals and Dread to be left alone so they cry and moan when their owner leaves the house but when we look at this in a logical way there's no need to fear abandonment and in most cases Our Lives aren't in danger when other people don't like us or

disapprove of us yes it may be more preferable when we are loved by our surroundings but we don't need it for survival and we don't need it to be happy as the stoics would say a good reputation is a preferred indifferent it's nice to have but if we don't it doesn't exclude virtuous living in other words if we live virtuously why should we care what others think we know we live in a good way and that's what counts wasn't Jesus Christ despised by the masses despite the fact that he embodied the good Roman Emperor and

stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote about his contempt for validation seeking behavior and I quote what is to be prized an audience clapping no no more than the clacking of their tongues which is all that public praise amounts to a clicking of tongues end quote when we look at the very nature of receiving validation from a physical audience clapping to likes on Facebook what do we see it's really nothing more than a few bodily movements and some pixels on the screen that give us a temporary Rush of pleasure however validation never gives us long-term contentment and

also leads to a craving for more thus it's pretty useless to spend our lives chasing it nevertheless we often see that people get upset when they don't receive the validation they think they deserve or when they find out that someone dislikes them or even hates them in some cases a simple and meaningless insult leads to violence the stoics pointed out long ago that we do not control the opinions of others and that the things we do not control are figal the more we value things outside our control the less control we have let's face it

no matter how much we try there will always be people that don't like us there will always be people that are ungrateful hostile hateful mean Etc we often become resentful towards these people and sometimes we spend a lifetime thinking about the nasty things they said here's what stoic philosopher epicus said about this and a quote when another blames you or hates you or when men say anything injurious about you approach their poor souls penetrate within and see what kind of man they are you will discover that there's no reason to be concerned that these men

have this or that opinion about you end quote resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die it's a complete waste of time with a little bit of compassion we'll see that those who offend us are human beings too there are many possible reasons why they think what they think and say what they say it may be ignorance bias frustration or they might be pointing out something that's truly deficient about us if the letter is the case we have the option to fix it or let it be no matter what we

do ruminating about someone else's dislike towards us won't get us anywhere so it may not be up to us what other people think it's definitely up to us how we handle it our ability to take position towards the external world is what makes us happy or not being hurt by other people's opinions isn't caused by them it's caused by our minds worrying about things that are outside us and Irrelevant for our own mental well being simply put what other people think is none of our business you might be wondering how did the ancient stoics view

lust and love were they hopeless Romantics or rather cold and distant were they Pleasure Seekers enjoying polyamory or did they value the duties of marriage so there's a big difference between love and lust although in today's day and age we often mix them up we could say that unconditional love is the pure form there is and something that's completely in our control sto philosopher epicus described the things inner control as by Nature free unrestrained and unhindered that's why we can give this type of Love Away freely and don't need anything in return so the quality

of it doesn't depend on what outside forces are up to lust on the other hand is a desire for something that is not in our control when we are lustful We crave for the body of another human being and when this body for some reason isn't available we suffer epicas described the things not in our control as weak slavish restrained and belonging to others living in a western culture I see great emphasis put on romantic love the romantic love ideal has become such an important Pursuit that we have elevated it to an ultimate concern more

often than not in secular countries romantic love rises above any form of religion and spirituality some people live for romance making this mesmerizing experience the focus of their lives unfortunately there's a problem with this Pursuit when two people fall in love they reside in a period of infatuation called the honeymoon phase whether or not nature meant this to be simply an incentive to procreate the honeymoon phase does doesn't last after the intense Euphoria decreases it's not unlikely that people feel cheated without the rose col glasses they see a human being with probably the many flaws

that they initially overlooked as a result many people rather seek for another romantic high and abandon those that aren't doing it for them anymore such a love is selfs serving rather than serving others in many ways romantic love is built bu on clinging and aversion we cling to someone immensely and are averse to the idea that we get separated from this person he who fails to obtain the object of his desire is disappointed and he who incurs the object of his aversion wretched said abicus the experience of being wretched is very commonly seen in individuals

that are in a romantic love affair in the form of jealousy jealousy between lovers can be quite destructive it's a fear-based emotion that our lover will leave us for another lover this often results in possessiveness the need to control the movement of another human being to assure ourselves that they won't do things we don't like which is just another form of clinging such relationships don't seem very virtuous nor do they lead to Inner Peace still as opposed to what some might think the stoics did not disapprove of relationships yet they did not recommend clinging or

the Indulgence in lust senica for example saw the Indulgence in lust as worst of the sins and I quote among the worst cases I count also those who give their time to nothing but drink and lust for these are the most shameful preoccupations of all end quote senica stated that those who are abandoned to the belly and lust bear the stain Of Dishonor and thought that people who are quickly angered greedy and violent at least sin in a more quote unquote manly fashion this doesn't mean that we shouldn't experience lust at all the joy of

intercourse can be seen as a preferred indifferent which is a subordinate to the stoic virtue called moderation as opposed to lustful Indulgence senica respected love and meaningful relationships with other people in fact they concerned him a great deal he valued marriage and the duties involved and expressed his dislike towards divorce and adultery such a stance is congruent with stoic ethics that point to living a virtuous life above everything else stoic philosopher masonius ruus also valued marriage a lot and saw Mutual care as the Cornerstone for a successful Union I quote in marriage there must be

complete companionship and concern for each other on the part of both husband and wife in health and in sickness and at all times because they entered upon the marriage for this reason as well as to produce Offspring End quote masonius also observed that when in a marriage people only look at their own interests and neglect their Partners it is doomed to fail we can see this happening in some affectionless marriages in which people share a roof together while perpetually seeking pleasure outside the house masonia is called as an existence worse than loneliness even though the

stoics considered love to be important they also recommend us not to cling to the things we love at the end of the day a spouse a friend a child or a pet is not in our control and we can lose them in a heartbeat epicus put it this way and a quote never say of anything I have lost it but I have returned it is your child dead it is returned is your wife dead she is returned end quote this attitude might come in handy for people that worry about their partner's cheating in the future

if that happens remember that this isn't a loss it's just a return to keep things simple I would say that the core of stoic love is the facilitation of virtue a union between two people like marriage can be seen as a potential vessel for good like caring for each other and raising children this idea Echoes through religions like Christianity and Islam in which marriage is also seen as the correct way for two people to practice love as well as lust although the stoics are not cold and distant towards human affection they value virtue the most

intimate relationships and virtue do not have to contradict each other even lust can be part of a virtuous life as long as it isn't overdone but hey let's face it aren't there higher things to pursue than some fun Between the Sheets the ancient stoics argued that living a virtuous life means living in accordance with nature now what did they exactly mean by this are we to follow our instincts like animals do or perhaps should we live a nature friendly Lifestyle the early stoic Zeno of citium was the founder of the stoic philosophical School unfortunately not

much is left of his legacy except a series of quotations the Byzantine scholar Johannes toos who lived in the 5th Century compiled a series of valuable extracts from Greek authors in which you wrote about stoic ethics and the way Zeno proposed them simply put everything that is part of being consists of things that are good bad or indifferent so this is what stus told us and I quote good are the following sours of item wisdom moderation Justice courage and all that is virtue or participates in virtue bad are the following sorts of item Folly intemperance

Injustice cowardice and all that is fce or participates in Vice end quote now the so-called indifference are either preferred or dispreferred but do not necessarily lead to happiness or misery examples of these are death looks money reputation and so forth the stoics saw living in accordance with nature as the ultimate goal and equivalent to a virtuous life since virtue leads to happiness people who live in conflict with nature are not happy this is all great but it's still a bit unclear how we actually put this into practice what do the stoics mean with nature and

how do we as human beings live in agreement with it well there are different explanations and since the accounts of the early stoics are gone for the most part we have to look at other authors to clear this up diogenes laertius a biographer of Greek philosophers pointed out that with nature the stoics meant the nature of all things also called the nature of the whole and human nature as a part of this whole He sums it up like this and I quote therefore the end turns out to be living in agreement with nature taken as

living in accordance both with one's own nature and with the nature of the whole and end quote when we look at our planet we see that everything has its own characteristics water for example flows to the lowest point nourishes whatever it encounters along the way but in itself doesn't really have a thinking capacity nevertheless water is part of a system and I think that we can agree that it performs its duties quite well now plants have their place too in nature they produce oxygen for example or serve as food for animals these animals in their

turn can serve as food for other animals as well as for human beings The stoics observed that human beings are like animals naturally inclined to self-preservation that arises from what Zeno called osis osis signifies self- ownership or the appropriation to the individuals or species needs we hoard resources protect ourselves and loved ones take care of our bodies find Shel Etc but what distinguishes us from animals is our rational thinking capacity this is a huge GameChanger an example humans as well as animals have a natural tendency to be hostile towards the unknown because it could be

a threat in humans we can often see hostility towards people from another country with different facial features a different skin color a different language and so on even though we might experience an urge to be hostile style towards the unknown we also have a choice to approach the urge rationally and decide if we should act upon it or not in the same way we approach a sexual desire or the sudden wish to kill our boss after he snaps at us for no reason animals can't rationalize their natural urges so we can't really blame them for

acting upon them all the time but for humans it's quite another story We surely can rationalize our natural urges and choose to do what's right whatever that may be instead of letting instincts dictate us so how can we do this well Marcus orelus was very clear about that and I quote human life duration momentary nature changeable perception dim condition of body decaying Soul spinning around Fortune unpredictable lasting Fame uncertain sum up the body and its part are a Riv the soul a dream and Mist life is Warfare and a journey far from home lasting reputation

is oblivion then what can guide us only philosophy end quote the Roman Emperor wrote quite a lot in his meditations about living in agreement with nature and that we should always seek to Define what our nature is and how it fits best within the bigger picture so who are we who am I how do I relate to the world when we look at Humanity it's clear that we all have our strengths and weaknesses all have certain qualities some are better with their hands some are better with their brains we could therefore say that we are

not created equal but that doesn't mean that there isn't a way for everyone to be valuable to the whole also this means that all people have access to a happy life no matter what hardships they face and how that the hand is their dealt so living in accordance with nature is not just living a virtuous life but also living a life that suits you best as the human being you are as Marcus aurelus stated don't ever forget these things the nature of the world my nature how I relate to the world What proportion of it

I make up that you are part of Nature and no one can prevent you from speaking and acting in harmony with it always end quote when we have something we cherish like a spouse or a friend or a certain status within a group but we feel threatened of losing it we experience resentment which we call jealousy so how can we deal with this to begin I first need to explain the difference between jealousy and envy jealousy comes from a fear of losing something to another person and is very common in Intimate relationship ship in which

we fear to lose a partner to someone else Envy is wanting something that someone else has like a car a house looks Etc thus Envy is being resentful of people that are in our eyes more fortunate than ourselves when I look at jealousy from a stoic point of view I see two things the illusion of permanence and the belief that external things will make us happy now the stoic noticed that the nature of the universe is impermanence and that everything outside our faculty is not in our control when you're jealous you don't want to lose

something external that you attach yourself to In This Moment the truth is however no matter how infatuated you currently are with your boyfriend or girlfriend someday you will be separated bear in mind that everything that exists is already fraying at the edges and in transition subject to fragmentation and to rot is a quote by Marcus Aurelius everything is subjected to continual change we could say that change is the only constant When We Fear and resist change we become insecure and insecurity is where jealousy is coming from but we simply don't know how this change is

going to manifest so why worry about it the only thing we can do is what's best in the moment we're in without deriving rights from our actions in regards to the Future this is called amorfati which means embracing the outcome whatever it is epeus has a powerful quote that relieves the pain of jealousy by reminding us that we never own what we are attached to and that the presence of this particular person in our lives is temporary I quote never say of anything I have lost it but I have returned it is your child dead

it is returned is your wife that she is returned is your estate taken away well and it's not that likewise returned but he would took it away is a bad man what difference is it to you who the giver assigns to take it back while he gives it to you to possess take care of it but don't view it as your own just as Travelers view a hotel end quote no matter how much effort we put in our relationships how well our property is secured how great our reputation is we can still lose the things

we are attached to like our spouse our house or our social status at the blink of an eye this means that the fear we are experiencing when we are jealous is actually quite a rational one that aligns with the nature of the universe yes your spouse May cheat on you with a coworker tomorrow yes your supposed best friend may prefer the presence of someone else over your presence the fact that these possibilities are realistic and common is a reason not to worry about it why are you trying to control the external world that's not up

to you anyway it's a waste of time but I need this person to be happy you might say no you don't within the stoic system of Ethics all external things including the people you love are considered so-called preferred indifference it's nice to have them and they might support you in living a virtuous life but preferred indifference are no hard requirement to be happy according to the stoics happiness is found in virtuous actions here's a quote from Sena virtue is free inviable not to be moved not to be shaken and so hardened against misfortunes that she

cannot be bent let alone overcome by them end quote from my understanding of stoicism my suggestion would be replacing the focus on the external with focus on the internal thus stop obsessing about losing the things you love because you'll lose them anyway and they aren't as vital for your happiness as you may believe instead you might want to focus on living well regardless of what happens around you and paradoxically when you focus on living well instead of anxiously grasping and clinging to the things you don't want to lose you might actually attract more preferred indifference

into your life also the ones you already have are more like likely to stick with you out of Free Will as opposed to you being jealous which will only drive them away as a sequel to my video about jealousy let's talk about Envy what is Envy how should we handle it what can we learn from the stoics in regards to envy and is it really a bad thing I have previously discussed jealousy and proposed several Solutions based on the works by stoic philosophers epicus Marcus AR I and senica there's a difference between jealousy and envy

the first one comes from a fear of losing something or someone to another person the second one is the desire for something that belongs to someone else like a car a house looks and social status in a general sense I would go along with the consensus that Envy isn't a good thing but it's a bit more complicated if we narrow it down we see that Envy is a form of Desire specifically focused on things that belong to other people desire means that we want to reach out for something that we consider as desirable thus as

something we want for ourselves when the thing we are envious of is something external like someone else's money partner car job Etc we desire pleasure rather than happiness the focus of our Envy is directed towards what the stoics call preferred indifference which are nice to have but not necessary for happiness moreover external things are not in our control they could be taken away in a heartbeat which makes them unreliable and weak when we're envious about something internal like The Virtuous actions of someone else and their inner peace and happiness it might be a sign that

we have work to do on ourselves needless to say the stoics would encourage the desire of being virtuous paradoxically when we pursue virtue and strengthen our own faculties we are likely to get rid of Envy altogether as epictia stated we may be unconquerable if you enter into no combat in which it is not in your own control to conquer when therefore you see anyone eminent in honors or power or in high esteem or any other account take heed not to be hurried away with the appearance and to pronounce him happy for if the essence of

good consists in things in your own control there will be no room for Envy or emulation end quote unfortunately some people cling to Envy so much that they engage in immoral Behavior like stealing infidelity and even murder in the Old Testament and the Quran we find a story about the Rivalry between the brothers Cain and Abel sons of Adam and Eve Cain was a farmer and Abel was a Shepherd Cain offered God a part of his crops while Abel offered God the first Lings of his flock Cain killed his brother after God accepted Abel's offerings

while he rejected his the ancient scriptures don't explicitly mention Envy but interpretations of the story magnify the theme of envious rivalry between siblings which is quite common to this day however the ancient scriptures don't mention why God did this was he capricious and treated Cain and Abel differently for no reason this could be the case another possibility is that Abel acted more virtuously by giving God the best of his flock as well as a blood offering while Cain's offerings were of lesser quality interestingly enough both scenarios are great starting points to look at Envy from

aoic point of view and use them as a metaphor for dealing with Envy in our daily lives the first scenario is that Abel indeed acted more in a virtuous way and was therefore rewarded by God in this case we can see the blood offering by Abel as a metaphor for what the stoics would call an act of virtue according to the stoics virtue leads to udonia which can be translated as human flourishing or simply happiness thus we could say that Cain was envious of Able's virtue and the consequences of that virtue this doesn't make Envy

a bad thing at least not yet the problem is that many envious people seek to destroy what they're envious of instead of using Envy to lift themselves up so instead of killing his brother Cain could have used the spark of Envy to realize that able was doing a better job than him and see his brother as an inspiration for becoming more virtuous himself the second scenario is that God denied Cain's offerings for no reason which basically resembles the way of the universe that are quite random and unfair some people are born in Rich families others

in poverty some people are gifted with great intelligence others are mentally disabled this unfairness could have angered Cain so much that he decided to act out if senica was around at the time he could have told Cain that the unfairness of life doesn't influence the ability to be happy I quote come now contrast a good man who is rolling in wealth with a man who has nothing except that in himself he has all things they will be equally good though they experience unequal Fortune this same standard as I have remarked is to be applied to

things as well as to men virtue is just as praiseworthy if it dwells in a sound and free body as in one which is sickly or in bondage end quote so is Envy a bad thing it really depends on what we are envious of and how we handle it for the most part being envious because of externals is kind of pointless they're surely nice to have but they won't obstruct the ability to be happy on the other hand we can use Envy as a tool to better ourselves although the stoics aren't very fond of pursuing

material wealth it's still possible to use Envy as an inspiration to achieve this if that's what you want the Dark Side of Envy is that it can also be an incentive to destroy the thing or person we are envious of in this case clinging to Envy is a very dangerous thing personally I think the best way to treat Envy is by awareness why am I envious is my Envy justified in other words does the thing I desire truly lead to happiness can I use my Envy to better myself and subsequently get rid of Envy no

matter if you look at Buddhism stoicism or Christianity the rule of thumb is if we just focus on our own path and be grateful for what we have there's no reason to be envious of anything the sto bring forth the theme of self-control on a regular basis epicus for example spoke about abstaining from talking about vulgar things and Marcus aelius points out that we should set limits to comfort and consumption when we make the distinction between the things in our control and not in our control the key is strengthening the things in our control which

is in one word our own faculty a strong faculty ensures that we are less likely to to be enslaved by outside forces that are not up to us this means that impulses triggers and temptations have less power over us which strengthens our position in a universe that's ever changing this really hit me after I recently did a 72-hour water fast during which I didn't eat and drank only water for 72 hours the first day was most difficult but the second day was surprisingly Blissful and I was able to do all tasks that I would normally

do this really changed my perception in regards to food I used to think that I would faint if I didn't eat for a day but it turns out that I'm doing fine after a period of not eating the lesson I got from this is that many needs and desires come not So Much from the body but from certain ideas that are ingrained in our minds for me abstaining from food for 72 hours changed my relationship with it I I've become less needy knowing that I'll be fine and that I'm perfectly able to function when I

don't eat for a while the consequence I worry less about food Statesman and stoic philosopher senica reflected on the festivities going on in the city during which the Romans feasted got drunk and basically indulged in pleasure he argued that it's courageous to not participate in these festivities but it's even more courageous to participate but in a different way without extravagance thus I assume in a sober and modest fashion to detach ourselves from luxury and test the constancy of the Mind senica gave us the following advice set aside a certain number of days during which you

shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fair with coarse and rough dress saying to yourself the while is this the condition that I feared end quote Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote that we should set limits on Leisure Time emphasizing that we aren't made to spend our lives eating drinking and sleeping to excess especially when we look at the rest of the planet I quote don't you see the plants the birds the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks putting the world in order as best they can and you're not willing to do

your job as a human being why aren't you running to do what your nature demands end quote although I like his analogy I must add that some animals probably aren't the best examples when it comes to industriousness however another argument that Marcus Aurelius brings forward repeatedly is that we should live in agreement with nature more specifically our human nature the guideline for this are the stoic ethics to put it simply if one lives virtuously one lives in agreement with nature and vice versa courage and moderation are two of the four cardinal virtues in stoicism courage

is subdivided into confidence endurance cheerfulness high-mindedness and industriousness moderation can be subdivided into modesty seemliness good discipline and self-control there are many ways to train self-control different types of fasting are very effective but please consult your doctor first another way is restricting the use usage of the smartphone social media and the internet all together waiting a moment in front of your dish before you start to eat and chewing on your food for a certain amount of times before swallowing you'll be amazed how difficult this is self-control makes us familiar with the hardship that many fellow

human beings go through every day like hunger bad luck and working insane hours with no vacation becoming more content with what we have and less dependent on what we think we need brings about a sense of inner peace and happiness as senica puts it let us become intimate with poverty so that fortune may not catch us off guard we shall be rich with all the more Comfort if we once learn how far poverty is from being a burden thinking about death not only reminds us that we have a limited amount of time to do the

things we want to do it also teaches tees us to accept the reality of death itself and that it's all around us Meo Mori is Latin for remember Thou Art mortal on the famous painting by Philip D champen from 1671 you see the three Essentials of momento Mori The Hourglass stands for the notion that life is sticking away second after second the rose stands for the truth about Vitality which is that at some point we all decay the skull represents death we are going to die and not only us the people around us including our

loved ones as well this means that today could be the last day you walk the earth you could leave life right now let that determine what you do and say and think wrote Marcus Aurelius in his meditations so if you would die today what would you do well some people would certainly go on a hedonistic binge getting whatever pleasure they can think of before they die but if you lead your life according to stoic principles that would not be a preferred option rather you would probably live your last hours as virtuously as possible do you

want to show appreciation for your loved ones tell them you love them do you have unfinished business now is the time to take care of that so Meo Mori is a great antidote to one of the nastiest habits of mankind procrastination because procrastination can only take place if we believe that we have an abundance of time when we take that belief away we Face the necessity of doing our task now because tomorrow we might be dead now thinking about death May evoke feelings of fear and sorrow along with the motivation we get to take care

of our business this isn't caused by death itself but by our opinions about death here's a quote by epicus men are Disturbed not by things but by the principles and Notions which they form concerning things death for instance is not terrible else it would have appeared so to Socrates but the terror consists in our notion of death that it is terrible end quote when we stop fearing death and we see it as nothing more than the insurmountable consequence of life we can be appreciative for the time that is given to us and not squander it

doing Patty things another dimension of Mento Mori is preparation yes we will lose the people we love and sometimes in the most brutal ways just look at human history or look at what's happening in the world right now the world is full of death not being affected by loss is of course easier said than done even though the stoics proposed this ideal most of us are still human and will have to deal with grief when someone they love dies now reminding ourselves of the possibility that we can lose a loved one as we speak helps

us to be less shocked when that happens for most people I know losing someone they love is excruciating humans are often so attached to each other that they cannot bear the loss but if we are mindful of the truth of death we can cultivate a healthier mindset towards the possibility of of loss instead of clinging to a person wishing that we will never get separated we can embrace the reality that the day of separation will come this doesn't mean that we shouldn't grieve and mourn it means that we were prepared all along we can be

more functional and helpful human beings for the community when death occurs in this case losing someone due to mortality becomes more neutral here's how Marcus Aurelius puts it don't look down on death but welcome it it too is one of the things required by Nature like Youth and old age like growth and maturity like a new set of teeth a beard the first gray hair like sex and pregnancy and childbirth like all the other physical changes at each stage of life our dissolution is no different end quote what happens after we die will we enter

the Eternal nothingness that freezes of sense perception emotional turmoil worry and rumination and the enslavement of our bodies or will we return to the flesh again for another life in the realm of matter no one knows for sure but what we do know is that mortality is upon us when death Smiles at us no matter where we go is there a better response than to smile back a breakup can be excruciatingly pain ful the concept of love and romance has changed over the centuries back in ancient Greece I doubt there was a dayon culture similar

to what we have now nonetheless I think we can bring everything down to certain human core emotions like lust craving attachment or anger that haven't changed unlike humans Nature has all the time in the world so even though civilization makes leaps and leaps forward our physiology isn't very different from what it was like 2500 years ago that's why an ancient philosophy like stoicism is still applicable yes we know much more now about how the brain works but that doesn't take away the validity of stoic wisdom now that said it's essential to deconstruct what's exactly happening

when we break up and why we feel so bad now falling in love is a very intense experience our bodies produce chemicals that make us feel good and at some point the only person we can think about is the one we are in love with so I think that for a great part it's a chemical thing with the purpose of bonding and reproduction that's why after the so-called honeymoon phase these intense feelings begin to WAN until we stop seeing the other person through rose-colored glasses so it's a temporary high after the high is gone there's

often still a deep attachment is this attachment wrong in itself at some point we can't really help help it right if it's there it's there but can we change the way we approach this attachment and this situation in which we are separated from the person we're attached to this is where the power of the rational mind comes in which the stoics are Masters at even though we can't just make the pain magically go away what helps is changing certain wrong beliefs in order to accept the reality of the breakup and find a sense of Peace

in it I would like to briefly discuss a few of these beliefs and what the stoics say about them one I need that person to be happy this attachment can manifest itself in clingy Behavior and the belief that we need this particular person to be happy the common answer to this problem is that there is plenty of fish in the sea this is of course true which is already a reason why it's insane to think that there's only one person for you but this doesn't really solve the problem because no matter if there's one one

10 or a billion fish in the sea the fish is still something external so theoretically it's still possible that we can't obtain any of these fish even if there's plenty of them it's beyond our control if we suffer from a breakup because we believe that we need the other person to be happy we make the mistake of thinking that our happiness depends on something external this is where stoicism firmly disagrees with according to stoic philosophy virtue is the only thing we need to be happy moreover living a virtuous life is completely in our control romance

a relationship marriage and even having a family are all unnecessary for happiness and they're also unreliable factors the stoics call these preferred indifference preferred indifference are nice to have but not mandatory for living a happy life two I'm entitled to that person now this is a belief or idea that if evokes a lot of anger in people it could be that we begin to see the other person as a possession or at least a factor in life that we are entitled to this idea often goes handin hand with jealousy which is basically a fear of

loss when this person decides to break up with us we feel wronged and think that the reason for the breakup is in some way unjust in case of divorce we might especially feel wronged because our ex-spouse broke the promise of staying together until until one of us dies also when the breakup involves cheating we feel betrayed things like monogamy and sexual exclusivity haven't always been the norm these are mere Concepts applied in social structures and part of for example religious traditions and because of these concepts are part of our normative framework of course this feeds

a sense of entitlement and fear of loss in today's day and age with ever increasing sexual freedom worldwide dating apps and the decline of sacredness in regards to marriage chances are high that relationships fall apart thus breakups are more and more common and so is infidelity sto philosopher epicus had some wise words to say about how we should position ourselves towards losing the things we love I quote never say of anything I've lost it but I've returned it is your child dead it is returned is your wife dead she is returned is your estate taken

away well and is not the likewise returned but he would take it away is a bad man what difference is it to you who the giver assigns to take it back while he gives it to you to possess take care of it but don't view it as your own just as Travelers view a hotel end quote three I'll never get over that person the excruciating pain that a breakup brings makes it seem all almost impossible to get over it but the cliche is really true Time Heals the wounds a stoic philosopher and ancient Roman Emperor

Marcus are really spits it some things are rushing into existence others out of it some of what now exists is already gone change and flux constantly remake the world just as the incessant progression of time remakes eternity end quote now the pain is something we can work with fighting it won't help instead it's better to acknowledge that it's there some people apply really bad coping mechanisms I used to do that too especially by lots of alcohol and other mind-altering substances but these are just quick fixes that won't help in the long run I've also isolated

myself often after a breakup which is only good in moderation from my own experience ideally dealing with the grief is a combination of active engagement with the world and moments in itude to really sit with it the letter is important it's the Embrace of what is and to Simply endure the Detachment phase which is a slow process that can take months or even years in order to learn more about how the stoics looked at the immediate grief after an unfortunate event we might want to turn to senica senica was not just a stoic philosopher he

was also a Statesman who held a highly powered position in the Roman Empire until he was charged with adultery with the emperor's sister he was exiled to Corsica he writes to his mother to console her because she mourned his absence I quote I knew that I must not oppose your grief during its first transports lest my very attempts at Consolation might irritate it and add F to it for in diseases also there is nothing more hurtful than medicine applied too soon for