Dear aVoid:

You express yourself so well.. I am impressed!

“Both Buddhism and Stoicism believe that life has an inevitable suffering. For Buddhism finds meaning by ending suffering. Stoicism finds meaning by accepting suffering“. I wanted to read more about stoicism and found it very simply and clearly outlined in minimalism. com/ articles/ stoicism meaning:

“At the heart of the Stoic way of living is the ongoing process of: * developing self-control * exercising clear judgment, and * overcoming destructive emotions. The following 5 principles provide a roadmap to following the Stoic philosophy: 1. Manage your expectations and judgments… When there’s a big gap between what you want or expect and reality, it causes anxiety, frustration, and discord. You can have dreams, hopes, and beliefs, but better that they are sensible”.

“2. Be realistic about what you have the power to change…There’s a lot about life you have no ability to influence. However, there’s much you can change (namely your own thoughts, habits and actions). Western society — the U.S. in particular — has an obsession with winning and succeeding. In reality, there are things that you won’t be able to do, even if you ‘put your mind to it’. Learn how to distinguish what’s in your power and what’s not. A good rule of thumb is to start with self”.

“3. Understand the meaning of equanimity— and practice it… Equanimity means calm and composure… which is central to the philosophy. Humans have a built in fight or flight mechanism that triggers anytime there’s a perceived threat… With practice you can learn how to master this mechanism instead of allowing it to command you”.

“4. Call out your emotions for exactly what they are… In the midst of adverse situations your thoughts are typically muddled by overpowering emotions, so it’s easy to misinterpret what you are really feeling. By calming down enough to name the emotion and its underlying cause, you’ll be better able to address the situation in an appropriate way. One unfounded myth of Stoicism is that practitioners seek to suppress emotions. But what they really do is recognize emotions and then put them in check so they don’t cause damage”.

“5. Live in harmony with nature — particularly human nature… replace impulse behavior with purpose, intention, and logic.”

Thank you, aVoid for filling a void within me in regard to understanding stoicism!

anita