Be Aware, But Not Troubled

There is a balance to Stoicism between awareness and anxiety. The Stoics want you to be prepared for an uncertain—and oftentimes dangerous—future, but somehow not worry about it at the same time. They want you to consider all the possibilities...and not be stressed that many of those possibilities will not be good. How exactly is that supposed to work? The answer lies simply in the idea of presence. As Seneca writes: “It is likely that some troubles will befall us; but it is not a present fact. How often has the unexpected happened! How often has the expected never come to pass! And even though it is ordained to be, what does it avail to run out to meet your suffering? You will suffer soon enough, when it arrives.”It may well rain tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you have to get wet in advance. You can enjoy the sunshine today, while still bringing in your furniture just in case. It’s important not to take the phrase premeditatio malorum (a premeditation of evils) too singularly. When Seneca says that all the terms of the human lot should be before our eyes, and then lists only the bad things, he’s accidentally doing that. Because of course good stuff can happen too. Bad stuff can not happen also. The point is that the future is out of our control. It is uncertain, and also vast. We have to be aware of that, yes, but we don’t need to suffer, particularly not in advance. Because we have plenty of time to prepare, and plenty of wide open present before us still as well. Enjoy it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:06Speaker 00

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:29Speaker 00

  Be aware, but not troubled. There is a balance to Stoicism between awareness and anxiety. The Stoics want you to be prepared for an uncertain and oftentimes dangerous future. But somehow, they don't want you to worry about it. They want you to consider all the possibilities and not be stressed that many of those possibilities will not be good. How exactly is that supposed to work? The answer lies simply in the idea of presence. As Seneca writes, "It is likely that some troubles will befall us, but it is not a present fact." How often has the unexpected happened? How often has the expected never

• 1:13Speaker 00

  come to pass? And even though it is ordained to be, what does it avail to run out to meet your suffering? You will suffer soon enough when it arrives. It may well rain tomorrow, but that doesn't mean you have to get wet in advance. You can enjoy the sunshine today while still bringing in your furniture, just in case. It's important not to take the phrase "premeditatio malorum," premeditation of evils, to singularly. When Seneca says that all the terms of the human lot should be before our eyes, and then only lists the bad things, he's accidentally doing that. Because, of course, good stuff can happen

• 1:55Speaker 00

  too. Bad stuff can also not happen. The point is that the future is out of our control. It is uncertain and also vast. We have to be aware of that, yes, but we don't need to suffer, particularly not in advance, because we have plenty of time to prepare and plenty of wide-open present before us still as well. Enjoy it.

• 2:21Speaker 00

  Memento Mori, remember death, remember you are mortal. Or as Marcus Aurelius said, "You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think." I actually wear this reminder in a signet ring on my finger, one of the most ancient and, I think, meaningful forms of jewelry there is. I wear it on my right ring finger. And we now make a Memento Mori Signet Ring in the Daily Stoic Stoic. You can check it out at dailystoic.com/store.