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Make Every Day Count

Using the teachings of 2,000 year old Stoicism in the Modern World

By The Philosopher KingPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Make Ever Day Count

What is the meaning of life? A question we all ask and face until death knocks on our door. But I have found that asking that question leads to nothing but anguish and a quest for perfection in life that isn’t there. I do tell myself that I am a Stoic, but not to the grand level of those such as Marcus Aurelius and Seneca. Or maybe I am? Much of what they say has become common sense in the modern world, while other wise words from them have not.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love,” is what Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote almost 2,000 years ago. Words of great teaching that we all should live by. “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life,” teaches Seneca, once again embodying wise words to live by. But do we follow these great messages? Of course not, that would make life too easy. It is to what levels of depth these Stoics go farther down, such as Marcus’ “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts...” and continues on to warn oneself to guard one’s thoughts against any “notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” Once again these words of wisdom seem as common sense, but we live in a world of bad thoughts.

Teen and young adult depression and suicide rates continue to rise. People hate their jobs, their lives, their day to day actions and instead of trying to fix it, watch Netflix shows about Tiger Kings and Baby Yoda. Both of which are fine for amusement but don’t answer the problems at hand. We humans now cling to our phones and tablets, scrolling through our friends' pages of beaches and filters and artificial happiness, while we lay in sadness. We see every move, every action, every thought of people because of technology and continue to fill our heads with self-defeating ideas of perfection. We have created such bubbles of self-destruction that we no longer can escape the addictions of social media, influencers and “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out).

But what would happen if we would listen to the minds of the past? Sure Marcus Aurelius and Seneca did not have Instagram or TikTok to amuse and also depress each other, but comparison to each other has been a part of human nature since the beginning of man. Even as an Emperor, Marcus was still a human being with emotions of love, jealousy, hate, fear, and most likely a gaining waistline from time to time. One could only assume that being the leader of the greatest empire the world had ever seen with 20% of the Earth’s population had its own harm to the mind, and yet Marcus was able to use such Stoic ideas to lead a life of clear mind and soul. No one is perfect, but I do believe that the modern world can learn from men like Marcus and Seneca, learning how to close our minds to the waterfall of social media garbage and learn how to filter in only information and emotions that can help instead of harm.

Maybe we can all delete Twitter, and not worry about the newest TikTok trend, but instead live our lives to the fullest. We will all die, and we must all accept that. But once again bringing back the words of Seneca, “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” Wake up as Marcus Aurelius did and appreciate your ability to breathe in the sweet air and the ability to bathe in the sun’s light. We all face death’s door, and many say how short life is in order to instill a sense of urgency to live one’s life, but instead I quote Seneca again in saying, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” Get off your phone, go for a walk, breathe in the air, call a friend, calm your mind, and make every day count.

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About the Creator

The Philosopher King

A human trying to make sense of life. My stories are words of emotion and thought brought on by sudden events or feelings I have at any given moment. Once settled into my mind, I post them here, to help others, and to help myself.

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