A Brief Existence

"But a brief existence is common to all things, and yet you avoid and pursue all things as if they would be eternal. A little time, and you will close your eyes; and him who has attended you to your grave another soon will lament." -Marcus Aurelius

Death is a difficult topic for most people in the Western world.  We don't want to admit that we are mortal, that we could die at any time.  We don't think it is fair when a child dies, or a young adult.  We are not ready to lose the ones we love, even if they have lived to be 100 years old. 

The Stoics talked a lot about death.  It was something that Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, talked to himself about a great deal in his Meditations.  He admonished himself many times to consider that there were many "important" people who have passed through history, and yet where were they now?  All dead.  And those those mourn you at your grave, will soon be mourned by others, as the quote above tells us.

It is important to acknowledge that we all have an expiration date, and that none of us know when that date is coming.  Again, Stoics do not say that you should be anxious about your future death, but understand and accept that it could come at any time, to you or anyone else.  Taking away the fear of death leads you to live a happier life.

"How many a Chrysippus, how many a Socrates, how many an Epictetus has time already swallowed up? And let the same thought occur to you with reference to every man and thing." -Marcus Aurelius

I Was Training for This

"What ought one to say then as each hardship comes? 'I was practicing for this, I was training for this.'" -Epictetus

Being a Stoic takes work.  It takes daily training.  It means dealing with roadblocks along your path, being prepared for things to go wrong.  But when things go wrong, a Stoic isn't disappointed.  A Stoic welcomes the opportunity to put their training into action, as Epictetus says in the quote above.

Seneca echoed this thought when he said, "I want something to overcome, something on which I may test my endurance."  There is no such thing as a life without trials, without things to overcome.  The time to train for these things is now.  The best way to deal with any future crisis is to have a plan in place.  People create plans for hurricane preparedness, first aid emergencies while backpacking in the woods, car emergencies by keeping jumper cables and spare tires.  Stoicism trains you to deal with life in the same way, by teaching you to be prepared for anything that comes your way.

One of the tenets of Stoicism is "premeditatio malorum," or the premeditation of evils.  It means that in order to be prepared to face a crisis, you had to have thought of all the things that can go wrong, and know that you have the endurance to face them.  It is not meant to fill you with dread or anxiety about the future, as Stoics know that you have no control over the future.  However, when you prepare for possible events, you are not surprised and distressed when they occur.

"Everyone approaches courageously a danger which he has prepared himself to meet long before, and withstands even hardships if he has previously practiced how to meet them. But, contrariwise, the unprepared are panic-stricken even at the most trifling things. We must see to it that nothing shall come upon us unforeseen." - Seneca