Heraclitus spoke of the ever changing nature of the universe. How everything is in flux. I feel like our world is like this. Tumultuous and shifting we feel like we cannot sit still because we will be tossed about. We often look at this as a warning to be on guard and be prepared for…

Lately I have been reading a lot more. I pick up used books all the time and I try to pick the dry bones of whatever subject the author is trying to convey for some inspiration for my Stoic journey. This past weekend I picked up a ragged copy of “The Intellectual Life” by A.G.…

One of the hardest parts of being a Stoic is knowing when you have fallen short of virtue. It not simply a matter of guilt or pride but a knowing that you have forgotten your principles and have done some vile deed. When I was in a moment in which I had forgotten my principles,…

I am not a philosopher. I wish I was able think as deeply as James, Emerson and Russell. I have no grasp of logic because I deemed it too difficult in my childhood and never took up the study of mathematics. My thoughts are shallow, surface level introspections, not because of lack of effort but…

I got angry today. I let the madness overtake me and I lost that part of me that was reasoned. In short I failed. But I now get to begin again. I get to learn from that failure and see it clearly. I know now that when I am tired my walls are weaker. My…

I have long dreaded reading Seneca beyond his Letters. I felt that Seneca was a hypocrite who reveled in the fortune he had made as a statesman while lecturing his fellow citizens on virtue. A shallow view grounded in my own unwillingness to commit to reading deeper than a 15 minute skim would allow. That…

Happiness, a state of being that humans have sought throughout the ages, remains an elusive concept for many. In a world consumed by materialism and external validations, the Stoic philosophy offers a refreshing perspective on the nature of happiness. Stoicism, an ancient philosophy founded in Greece around 300 BCE, teaches us that true happiness lies…

The title of this post is also the title of the book I am reading currently. “Beyond the Individiual” by Will Johncock is a book that is changing a lot of my outlook on my own Stoic learning. The author main goal in the book is to alter Modern Stoic understanding to include a more…

A little paradox I have noticed as I have gotten older. As I move into an age in which I should feel I have the most knowledge I am more aware of how unwise I am. As if the accumulation of experience and knowledge reveals the lack of experience and knowledge. This is both profound…

I took a walk today. It was cool outside and I walked along the side of the lake here in our local town. I felt the breeze and could smell the damp ground by the lake. It is in these times that I am reminded of the unity of everything around us, how we are…