Sublime

Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome and Stoic philosopher, once said: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do, say, and think.”45 How would your life change if you truly operated under those directives? Would everything stay the same? What would you do differently? What would you say differently? Did simply thinking this way pu

“The first thing to do—don’t get worked up. For everything happens according to the nature of all things, and in a short time you’ll be nobody and nowhere, even as the great emperors Hadrian and Augustus are now. The next thing to do—consider carefully the task at hand for what it is, while remembering that your purpose is to be a good human being.

“We should take wandering outdoor walks, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.” —SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 17.8

Stoics do not seek to have the answer for every question or a plan for every contingency. Yet they’re also not worried. Why? Because they have confidence that they’ll be able to adapt and change with the circumstances.