For those of you who don’t already know this, I am, indeed, a modern day stoic, which practice, alongside my Christianity, has been one of the most saving of all the graces that have helped keep me standing so strong amidst my storms. So many people have mistakenly assumed that just because I’m a stoic, I don’t have any feelings. NOTHING could be further from the truth. As an empath, I am a walking, taking, BALL of “feelings”, it’s just that I have found a way to rise above, regulate and control them!

But what IS “stoicism“, anyway?

Well, in honor of this first day of “Stoic Week 2023“, let’s take a quick look at the four stoic tenets of virtue the ancient Greeks, Romans, and I firmly believe should guide our actions toward doing the right things regardless of less than optimal circumstances we have no control over. We’ll call it “Stocism For Dummies” (which includes me):

WISDOM:

The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control.

(Epictetus)

Use your brain, don’t do dumb shit, and sometimes it just IS what it IS. Accept the things you cannot change, have the courage to change the things you can, and move on when it’s over!

(Real Cat)

COURAGE:

Don’t you know life is like a military campaign? You have been stationed in a key post, not some lowly place, and not for a short time but for life.

(Epictetus)

Just be brave, no matter what you’re facing, ’cause sometimes LIVING is HELL on Earth and you gotta be prepared for the battle!

(Real Cat)

JUSTICE:

And a commitment to justice in your own acts. Which means: thought and action resulting in the common good. What you were born to do.

(Marcus Aurelius)

Strive to be fair and kind and try REALLY hard not to be a fucking asshole!

(Real Cat)

MODERATION:

Pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit, are but punishments.

(Seneca)

“Slow your roll, player”, choose long-term well-being over short-term satisfaction, never get too greedy or sloppy, and never take or consume more than you need.

(Real Cat)

So? What have we learned here, kids? Well, I’ll tell ya! It’s that you don’t have to run around in a toga and strappy sandals or share blood with the ancient philosophers to be a modern day STOIC and live a better life. I mean, run around wearing a bedsheet if that’s what floats your boat, but, umm … you do YOU! And while, no, you really can’t control the world that spins around you, you very much can control how you choose to respond. Life is unpredictable, so ya gotta prepare yourself to stand STOIC amidst the storms. Oh, and by the way … you’re welcome!

STANDING IN THE STORM

I still got some life in me. You can try to shake me. I still got some fight in me, but you can never break me, break me. I see the clouds around me start to darken like searchin’ eyes of serpents always watchin’. Tell me I’m still breathin’. Tell me there’s still feelin’. Resistance makes me stronger. It makes me stronger. Time for me to be defiant, ’cause I won’t be silenced when I suffer. Slingin’ shots to Goliath, gonna call down fire and rain and thunder! I see the world around me start to darken. Resistance makes me stronger! So, make me stronger whatever comes. I’m standin’ in the storm like never before. The pressure builds around me. Let the winds surround me. Whatever comes, I’m not givin’ up! Fearless as a lion … not afraid of dyin’ … I still got some life in me! You can try to shake me, but you can never break me! I feel the voices underneath me callin’. I sink into the graveyard of the fallen. Tell me that you hear ’em … tell me that you don’t fear ’em. Resist a little longer … DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR! Nothin’ left to be decided, ’cause I won’t be quiet when they threaten through the hate and all the violence. Got truth on my side and Love’s my weapon! {Skillet}