Stoic Snippets: How To Live More

Welcome to Stoic Snippets, a wealth of wisdom in a matter of minutes. Inject your day with some stoic wisdom through a short reading designed to help you make the most of your life. Today's reading is from Seneca and deals with the importance of recognizing the inevitability of your own death. Sounds depressing, but it's actually uplifting. Trigger Warning: This practice may include references to death, dying, and the departed.

Transcript

Welcome to Stoic Snippets,

A wealth of wisdom in just a matter of minutes.

So today we're going to be thinking and talking about death.

Now I know it sounds macabre,

But sometimes thinking about death can actually bring you to life.

That's the message behind Memento Mori,

The stoic tradition of reminding yourself daily that life is a perishable good.

So here's your reminder.

You are going to die.

I know,

Hard to hear,

Right?

But look,

Don't shoot the messenger.

It's just a fact,

A fact of life.

Now there's nothing you can do about the dying part,

But what you can do is something about the living part.

As Seneca writes,

Death,

Therefore,

The most awful of evils,

Is nothing to us,

Seeing that,

When death is here,

We are not,

And when we are here,

Death is not.

So we can rely on death to arrive,

But what about life?

Well,

Seneca goes on.

It's not that we have a short time to live,

But that we are so wasteful of it.

You say you're scared of dying,

But tell me,

Is this kind of life you lead any different from being dead?

You act like mortals in all that you fear,

And like immortals in all that you desire.

If we are to truly live,

We need to recognize that we only have this life.

So as you reflect on the rest of your day,

Think about how you will make the most of it.

Not concerning yourself with pettiness or meaningless stuff,

Stuff that you can't take with you,

As Seneca says,

Desiring things as if we were immortal.

Instead,

Concern yourself with the things that make life so god damn beautiful.

Friendship,

Kindness,

Beauty,

Love.

How will you make this day count?

How will you use your time?

On social media,

Or actual social gatherings?

By being mad,

Or by being better?

How will you make this day,

One that brings you closer to life?

If you enjoyed this,

Why not check out my full length course on Stoicism,

A Beginner's Guide to Happiness,

Or leave me a review telling me how you are going to make the most out of your day.

Thanks very much,

I'll see you soon.

Reviews

I listened to it.

Holding my daughters hand!
Thank you!

Great insight and different perspective

I enjoy these snippets very much. Today I will once again try to stay present and appreciate the day I am having

Great snippit!!!

The preview ends with "you're going to die'...I laughed. I've always preferred the bald truth. It's quite refreshing

I liked the part on giving up pettiness. My sister is terminal and we just had a misunderstanding but she wants me to fly back home cause she is an independent person, but also because the diagnosis, finding out it's inoperative and chemo has little chance, she said she needs time to process and my wanting to rush down to spend as many days as we could to be together was premature. I understand but also feel like I failed I guess in my expectations and have been feeling sorry for myself. So the pettiness word really stuck out. Not sure if she would want to know of the insight timer Meditations on stoism and also Dale Burglum long talk on conscious dying. Since she wants me to leave, I don't think it's the right time to suggest anything. She has used insight timer but not sure how frequently. Again, I need to focus on what she feels she needs and not on my hurt feelings. So your talk has impacted my thoughts to try the best I can to ride past pettiness. Guess I picked your talk at the right time. Thank you

You know what they say about death and taxes? Well I have to work on the latter today but I will do so with gratitude for having income to report and then "render onto Caesar what Caesar is due" 🙏

Great way to begin the morning !

It is indeed a difficult topic but important to allow one to be more appreciative of the present moment. Thanks for the reminder. Well done!

A difficult topic perfectly delivered as a meaningful reminder and lesson. Thank you!

The philosophy of Stoicism makes life so much simpler. Thanks for this great explanation of death- A subject, so often thought of as taboo.

I listened to this again and completed day 3 of your class on Stoicism. Much to ponder. I like the music in the background here and hope you’ll tell me where I can find it to buy or download. Thanks much.