Reading & the Good Life
Join the conversation! Every Friday at Noon EST, Perennial Meditations readers are welcome to gather for Reading & the Good Life (Join here), a space for connection, contemplation, and conversations on the art of living! This week continues our exploration of the writing and wisdom of Lucius Annaeus Seneca through David Fideler’s (a previous podcast guest) great book Breakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living.
Who is Lucius Annaeus Seneca?
As many of you know, every Sunday, we explore one of Lucius Annaeus Seneca's (4 BC to 65 AD) letters. Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and advisor to Emporer Nero. He is most known for his philosophical works, including a dozen essays and one hundred twenty-four letters. Seneca's letters are mainly to Lucilius and cover several timeless topics, from wisdom to death and everything in between. His letters, known today as Letters from a Stoic, are filled with timeless wisdom.
How to Handle Adversity — Like a Stoic
Stoicism is a philosophy of life designed to help one live the good life. As Seneca put it in a letter to Lucilius, “No one can live a truly happy life, or even a bearable life, without philosophy; also, while it is complete wisdom that renders a life happy, even to begin that study makes life bearable.”
In Breakfast with Seneca, Fideler writes,
The Stoics knew that adversity and hardships are just part of life, so they developed ways to anticipate and respond to these inevitable experiences. But most importantly, it was their underlying way of looking at the world that took away the emotional sting most people feel when misfortunes cross their paths. In other words, the Stoics learned how to see the world in a slightly different way than the average person, making hardships feel less painful.
Are you seeing the world — like a Stoic? How would you define adversity? How do you typically handle challenges (or events that don’t go your way)?
For the Stoics, dealing with adversity connects with virtue. “Don’t desire hardships,” wrote Seneca in one of his letters, “but the virtue that allows you to endure hardships.” Therefore, we don’t actually need adversity to prepare for it. Since being virtuous is always up to us, each moment is an opportunity.
