“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you…
And consider, always, every day, the determinationof the grass to grow despite the unending obstacles.— Mary Oliver, Evidence We are change agents, creating new iterations of ourselves with every action. But so is everyone and everything else, which makes change exponential and complicated. There are some things we simply can’t control. One moment we’re celebrating…
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” — Marcus Aurelius I saw the squirrel, hanging upside down in the sun, grasping the oak bark with its cleverly-designed hind claws that hinge and hook so miraculously. He…
“The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short. But that isn’t a reason for unremitting despair, or for living in an anxiety-fueled panic about making the most of your limited time. It’s a cause for relief. You get to give up on something that was always impossible—the quest to become the optimized, infinitely capable,…
“You must be one man, either good or bad. You must cultivate either your own ruling faculty or externals, and apply yourself either to things within or without you; that is, be either a philosopher, or one of the vulgar.” — Epictetus, The Enchiridion Do you ever wonder why the Stoics are more popular than…
“Think of yourself as dead, you have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” — Marcus Aurelius It’s time to spread our wings and flyDon’t let another day go by my loveIt’ll be just like starting over–John Lennon, (Just Like) Starting Over Tim Urban posted a clever image on Twitter that…
“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” — Marcus Aurelius There’s something about an extended vacation that makes you hyper-aware of the world you return to. You gain new perspective on the world, you break free of the stories you’ve been telling yourself, the…
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” – Carl Sagan I met an old friend at the airport, both of us heading for the same plane, and we caught up on each other’s lives until we boarded the plane and went our separate ways on the other end…
“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” Neil Gaiman This rather cheery quote by Gaiman prompts a challenge of sorts from me. For making something isn’t what makes the world brighter, making something you care about making is what brightens the world. For in the making of something…
“Do not think that what is hard for you to master is humanly impossible; and if it is humanly possible, consider it to be within your reach.” – Marcus Aurelius Some days, when generally tapped out and the mind empty of original thought, I return to stoicism for a reset. I’m generally amazed at how…