A Day’s Journey

Cyclades — August 2022

Before landing in Santorini, I was lucky to spend the day wandering around Athens. The ancient home to democracy, geometry, the marathon, and my favorite school of philosophy – Stoicism. I walked around the ancient agora where Zeno originally preached Stoic principles two thousand years ago.

Stoicism gets a bad rap in todays society. We think of emotionless zombies with zero facial expressions. That is NOT at all what stoicism is about. Stoicism teaches how to take power over our emotions and focus on what we can control. As one of the great Greek stoics Epictetus said, “Don’t blame another for your state of mind. Your condition is the result of your own opinions and interpretations.” Only our mind can control the outcome of our satisfaction in life. Our mind interprets the situations around us and decides how we view it. Stoicism teaches us to take a positive lens and not over-react to so called “negative,” situations. We can let go of pain by changing our thoughts, and gaining resilience and wisdom in the process

Two of the most prominent leaders in Stoic thought are the Greek Epictetus and his books, “Enchiridion,” and “Discourses,” and Marcus Aurelius with his diary turned book, “Meditations.” Marcus Aurelius, the Emperor of Rome, wrote in Greek to himself:

This was 2,000 years ago! Stoicism is timeless. We today should not be able to relate to the most powerful man in the ancient world. It is humbling to remember that people are people no matter who or where or when we are.

While traveling around the Cyclades in Greece, I re-read through The Manual (Sam Torode Epictetus version) and Meditations (Gregory Hayes version). I normally like to read Ryan Holidays Daily Stoic for a daily passage of stoic wisdom to focus my day on. He also has a wealth of knowledge on his Daily Stoic podcast, as well as his other books and email newsletter. It’s easy to be inspired on the Aegean Sea- waking up to the most beautiful and peaceful sunrises of my life, watching the glassy cerulean sea gently roll by, and exploring new islands by land and sea. I thought: how can I build habits here that I can take with me on my travels?

Stoic virtues to live by:

1. Justice

2. Courage

3. Temperance/Moderation

4. Wisdom

I encourage you to read a book on Stoicism, listen to a podcast, or sign up for the Daily Stoic newsletter.

“Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense.” -Marcus Aurelius