Stoicism By Linda Stowe
If I were asked to describe myself in one word, I think that word would be stoic. While the term “stoic” is most often used as an adjective describing a person whose feathers are not easily ruffled, stoicism is much more than that. True Stoicism is a philosophy framed around four main virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation.
Stoicism is not a religion although if it had a deity, I suppose that would be Truth, and truth is the reason I describe myself as stoic. I try to live by the “what is” rather than what might be or what I want things to be. Some might say that I’m talking about just being realistic but to my mind the stoics are a more elite group than the realists. I see realism as situational and stoicism as a way of life. If a realist and a stoic were both faced with an egg shortage, both would accept the situation but the realist would complain about it.
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Polly here.
I used to follow a website about the Stoics. And I learned quite a bit about the early ones.
The ancient Stoics, like Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, believed we can’t control everything that happens. Instead, they believed, we can control how we respond to all the things in the world around us and in ourselves. It’s about focusing on what’s in our power. Our thoughts and actions. Our mindset. We should focus on those things and let go of the rest.
Basically, it’s the good ancient wisdom for telling us to breathe, and to do our best with what we’ve got. No matter the situation.
