“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

“Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will—then your life will flow well.”

Buddha taught that there is suffering in this world, it is inevitable, and the root cause of suffering is mainly the desires we feel.We want something, always, and feel miserable when we don't get it.Stoicism teaches us to live in accordance with nature and to accept that suffering will manifest in different ways in our lives.

Suffering and Desire

“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

Unavoidable life situations and circumstances can easily create a feeling of us being victims.If we are faced with misfortune, hardship, disaster or tragedy, and accept them, then we are positive, make the best of them, and we get out of the victim mindset. Nothing should be on our way to be happy and alive.

Unavoidable Circumstances

Knowing where you are heading in life, what is your purpose, your direction and your destination is crucial. One has to find one's calling in life.If we travel with no destination in our minds, we are lost.

Know Your Destination

Stoicism (an ancient Greek philosophy made popular by Romans) acknowledges the challenges we face and teaches us practical lessons so that we may overcome whatever stands in our way. By taking a practical approach to happiness (eudaimonia), we learn how to maintain it for longer periods of time and help others do the same:<ul><li>Live in Virtue: Be your best version </li><li>Focus on What You Control ... and accept the rest as it happens. </li><li>​Take Responsibility: Even if we don’t control everything that happens, we must take responsibility for our own lives. </li></ul>

Stoic Philosophy

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

Theory and principles can get inside our heads and we can just be caught up in definitions.Philosophy may be all about thinking but is not of much use if the principles are not applied.

Caught Up in Theory

The narrative we choose matters the most in the course of our lives.What we tell ourselves decides our perspective and it is formed with first-hand experience along with knowledge and wisdom of the past.

The Right Perspective

We all struggle to maintain a state of happiness and contentment. Even the enlightened Stoic philosophers we admire today had their moments of struggle. Marcus Aurelius, for example, had 13 children with his wife Faustina, and only four of them would out-live their father. Epictetus suffered from an abusive master who injured his leg so ...

MARCUS AURELIUS

Similar ideas to Marcus Aurelius

MARCUS AURELIUS

MARCUS AURELIUS

The Japanese Indigo As a Natural Antibacterial