June 4, 2022. The topic for today’s post is Stoicism which was founded around 300 BC in Athens, Greece. The historian Paul Veyne described Stoicism as “a paradoxical recipe for happiness.” Anyone who reads this post on a regular basis knows that the pursuit of happiness is what I’m all about. I’ll be inducing you to several of the Stoic philosophers shortly. In the meantime, June 4th is Audacity to Hope Day, Hug your Cat Day, National Cognac Day, National Cheese Day, National Pineapple Day, National Black Bear Day, National Bubbly Day, and Old Maids Day. This is the day in 1070 that Roquefort cheese was created in a cave near Roquefort, France. On this day in 1391 a mob surrounded and set fire to the Jewish quarter of Seville Spain. The surviving Jews were sold into slavery. On this day in 1876 the Transcontinental Express arrived in San Francisco, California, via the Transcontinental Railroad in 83 hours and 39 minutes after having left New York City. In 1912 on this day Massachusetts passed the 1st US minimum wage law. Lastly, in 1974 on this day the never to be repeated 10 cent Beer Night at Cleveland caused the Indians to forfeit the game when unruly fans stumble onto the field in the 9th inning. Now back to Stoicism. I’m going to give you quotes from several Stoic philosophers starting with Zeno of Citium who died in 262 BC. Zeno said, “The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.” Next is my favorite, Marcus Aurelius who died in 180 AD and said, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts” and “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” The last one quote is from Epictetus who died in 135 AD. He said, “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” If any of these quotes resonate with you, search on “Stoic Philosopher’s quotes” and start reading. It will be a good investment of your time. Abide.
