Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (May 24, 2020)

Hello there, 

For this week’s exercise, I will look for inspiration from some simple and direct words from Epictetus’ Discourses I 9.29:

“Friends, wait for God; when He shall give the signal and release you from his service, then go to Him; but for the present endure to dwell in this place where He has put you: short indeed is this time of your dwelling here, and easy to bear for those who are so disposed: for what tyrant or what thief, or what courts of justice, are formidable to those who have thus considered as things of no value the body and the possessions of the body? Wait then, do not depart without reason.”

There’s so much we can get out of this excerpt, but today I want to focus on the midsection: Time. Time is the only thing we own. Time is the only thing we can be robber of. Time is the only thing we can truly lose. So when push comes to shove time should be our only focus, concern and worry. 

I chose to being this up because I have become aware of too many people with the attitude of “I can’t wait until this pandemic / lock-down / social-distancing is over”. This is a very dangerous attitude, because it focuses on externals and things outside of one’s control (social rules, viral pandemic, logistics, etc) and turns one’s back on the only thing that is truly being damaged and lost: Time.

No matter who you are, where you are or what point in life you are in, this pandemic has affected you. Some more than other. Some are bored at home, while other struggle with making ends meet, and too many people are dealing with the loss of loved ones. Everyone has different “bad” things to deal with and to each one of us our reality may seem like it’s worse than others. And though the we could also discuss how externals can’t be “good” or “bad”, this week’S exercise is all about time.

So, as a practical exercise this week try and remind yourself as often as you can that no matter what is going on in your life, no matter what you feel like you must endure and no matter how subjectively difficult things may seem to you right now,  the clock is still ticking. Time marches on. Time leaves you for ever. Time is running, like water from a faucet in the dessert and it will run out at some point. Drink it as much as you can. You will still have to deal with your daily  challenges, but make sure you are aware of, present in and enjoying your time. Because once it’s gone, it’s gone and you can never have it back. 

As always I wish you a tranquil and productive week. Reach out to me on Twitter or Reddit to keep the conversation going.

Anderson Silver

(Author of “Your User’s Manual” and “Vol 2: Your Duality Within”)