“Let us therefore set out whole-heartedly, leaving aside our many distractions and exert ourselves in this single purpose, before we realize too late the swift and unstoppable flight of time and are left behind. As each day arises, welcome it as the very best day of all, and make it your own possession. We must…
“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…
“He who is everywhere is nowhere.” – Seneca Simplify. Focus on fewer things. Focus on important things. Things of consequence. Quietly move away from the shallow pool of life into the deeper waters. Less splashing and shouting. You can’t dive deeply in shallow water. You must go deeper—away from the noise. Where life is richer….
This form, this face, this life Living to live in a world of time beyond me; let me Resign my life for this life, my speech for that unspoken, The awakened, lips parted, the hope, the new ships. What seas what shores what granite islands towards my timbers And woodthrush calling through the fog My…
“Lay hold of to-day’s task, and you will not need to depend so much upon to-morrow’s. While we are postponing, life speeds by. Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except time.” – Seneca “What is the state of things, then? It is this: I do not regard a man as poor, if the little which remains is…
“Life will follow the path it started upon, and will neither reverse nor check its course; it will make no noise, it will not remind you of its swiftness.“ – Seneca, On The Shortness Of Life I re-read Seneca’s On The Shortness Of Life again over the last few days. Its a quick read but…
I quietly shelved plans to hike yesterday. Thunderstorms in the forecast, friends coming over, yard work to do… you know: excuses. Instead I did projects and regretted not getting out there and hiking. Lesson learned. But the bulkhead looks better than it ever has with a fresh coat of paint and the lawn has been…
Monday morning wasn’t offering me any free rides today. The well of creativity felt tapped out. I looked through the 27 drafts I had going and wasn’t inspired to pursue any of them. I tried sitting in my favorite reading chair and read Seneca’s On the Happy Life for inspiration, highlighting many passages yet finding…
“Show me that the good life doesn’t consist in its length, but in its use, and that it is possible—no, entirely too common—for a person who has had a long life to have lived too little.” Seneca, Moral Letters Preparing to sauté a holy trinity of onions, celery and peppers last night, I found the…
My mind’s distracted by work and projects. I need to write them all down and get them out of my head. Prioritize and tackle the list. First on the list is writing, and in writing I’m tackling another distraction: I’ve noticed my quote collection piling up again, which means I’m not sharing enough of them….