Marcus Aurelius
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Today, I’d like to expound on a metaphor that was presented some time ago in my parable, the Lazy Spinner. I don’t know that it’s a phenomenal metaphor. It has shortcomings and a limited scope. But, it’s been useful to me in parenting my children, husbanding my wife, and in dealing with interpersonal tension. I’d…
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I identify publicly with Stoic philosophy in my social media bios. In my case, this identification is transparently partial; Christ first. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts…
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In the half-light of dawn, Viktor trudges through the frozen mud. His feet are raw with blisters from ragged shoes that do not fit, handed down from a former occupant with no more need. He shudders at the promise of the day’s forced labor. Victor has been a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps for…
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The Rich and The Poor It is easy for a man who has much to criticize the habits of one who has little, and easy for a poor man to criticize the wealthy for the usage of what he has. It is not common to hear the poor criticizing the poor, or the rich the…
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In a quiet valley nestled between rolling hills, two friends, Elias and Mara, dreamed of building homes to call their own. Both decided to craft sturdy brick houses, envisioning shelters that would stand proud and long. With enthusiasm, they laid their foundations and began stacking their first rows of bricks under the warm sun. That…
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In a village carved from the frozen jaws of a Slavic winter, where the wind howled like a hungry wolf, lived Katya, a girl with eyes like storm clouds and skilled fingers that could’ve danced with flax… if only she’d let them. Her family’s hut smelled of damp wool and expectation, the flax piled high…
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Three people watched Fight Club last night. Spoiler alert. My wife, the narrative purist, was not a huge fan. “What’s so great about it?” She said. “It’s just a story about a guy who goes crazy and destroys things.” My mom, the plot sleuth, had the alter-ego twist pegged earlier than anyone. “I suspected…
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The Stoic Dichotomy of Control When I first began to read the Stoic philosophers, I was struck by a bedrock idea that is preached by pretty much all of them. In a nutshell, the Stoics promoted a key principle known as the dichotomy of control, which basically says that we should stick to worrying about…
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“Every instrument, tool, vessel, if it does that for which it has been made, is well. Does the sun undertake to do the work of the rain? And how is it with respect to each of the stars? Are they not different and yet they work together to the same end?” These words from Marcus…
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Stop Losing Sleep Over Work Stress with Stoicism If you are like me, you have lost more than a few nights of sleep over your job. Negative interactions, a boss that may be impossible to please despite your best efforts, reviews you disagree with, ever moving goal-posts, and stress-build up can send your head spinning…