Quotes About Life

there is nothing important, nothing serious, nor wretched either, in the whole outfit of life.

The Stoics fell somewhere between the Cyrenaics and the Cynics: They thought people should enjoy the good things life has to offer, including friendship and wealth, but only if they did not cling to these good things. Indeed, they thought we should periodically interrupt our enjoyment of what life has to offer to spend time contemplating the loss of whatever it is we are enjoying. Affiliating

Although it might not be possible to eliminate grief from our life, it is possible, Seneca thinks, to take steps to minimize the amount of grief we experience over the course of a lifetime

In my research on desire, I discovered nearly unanimous agreement among thoughtful people that we are unlikely to have a good and meaningful life unless we can overcome our insatiability. There was also agreement that one wonderful way to tame our tendency to always want more is to persuade ourselves to want the things we already have. This

Seneca, I am certain, was right when he pointed to laughter as the proper response to "the things which drive us to tears."2 Seneca also observes that "he shows a greater mind who does not restrain his laughter than he who does not restrain his tears, since the laughter gives expression to the mildest of the emotions, and deems that there is nothing important, nothing serious, nor wretched either, in the whole outfit of life.

THE STOICS COULD HAVE given us a philosophy of life without explaining why it is a good philosophy. They could, in other words, have left adoption of their philosophy of life as a leap of faith, the way Zen Buddhists do with theirs. But being philosophers, they felt the need to prove that theirs was the "correct" philosophy of life and that rival philosophies were somehow mistaken.

According to Epictetus, we should keep firmly in mind that we are merely actors in a play written by someone else—more precisely, the Fates. We cannot choose our role in this play, but regardless of the role we are assigned, we must play it to the best of our ability.

we are merely actors in a play written by someone else—more

Hedonic adaptation has the power to extinguish our enjoyment of the world. Because of adaptation, we take our life and what we have for granted rather than delighting in them. Negative visualization, though, is a powerful antidote to hedonic adaptation. By consciously thinking about the loss of what we have, we can regain our appreciation of it, and with this regained appreciation we can revitalize our capacity for joy.

the art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."46

the "flux and change" of the world around us are not an accident but an essential part of our universe.20

They tell us to live each day as if it were our last. They tell us to practice Stoicism in part so we will not fear death.

a good man will welcome "every experience the looms of fate may weave for him."3

remember that all we have is "on loan" from Fortune, which can reclaim it without our permission—indeed, without even advance notice.

Negative visualization is therefore a wonderful way to regain our appreciation of life and with it our capacity for joy. T

Others may have it in their power to affect how and even whether you live, but they do not, say the Stoics, have it in their power to ruin your life. Only you can ruin it, by failing to live in accordance with the correct values. The Stoics believed in social reform, but they also believed in personal transformation.

There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.

The tragedy of life and of the world is not that men do not know God the tragedy is that, knowing Him, they still insist on going their own way.

There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.

An honest assessment of our own capabilities, without conceit and without false modesty, is one of the first essentials of a useful life.

If all the other noble qualities of life were placed in the balance against it, loyalty would outweigh them all.

All nature awakes to life and activity.

A fish might more easily live on the apex of a rock than a man accustomed to crime live a life of virtue. ("The Story of Prince Barkiarokh")

The right of personal security consists in a person's legal and uninterrupted enjoyment of his life, his limbs, his body, his health, and his reputation.