The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living: Featuring new translations of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius

“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 seize what flees.” —SENECA, MORAL LET

“Of course I deprecate war, but if it is brought to my door the bringer will find me at home.”

The Zen meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn coined a famous expression: “Wherever you go, there you are.”

if our many youthful regrets are any indication, what feels right right now doesn’t always stand up well over time.

“if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

When someone has a strong opinion about something, it usually says more about them than whatever or whomever the opinion happens to be about.

it is our perceptions of things—rather than the things themselves—that cause most of our trouble.

Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own …”

However, if our judgments are crooked because we don’t use reason, then everything that follows will be crooked, and we will lose our ability to steady ourselves in the chaos and rush of life.