This Ain’t No Sin

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2:27This ain't no sin. It was a dark time, to be sure, a violent time, an uncertain time. Rome, be it in Cato or Marcus Aurelius' time, to say nothing of Seneca or Epictetus', living under Nero or slavery, respectively, this was no picnic. And yes, the Stoics tried to be indifferent, unfazed by it all. They tried to focus on what was in their control. They tried not to be too attached to the things that could be taken from them, which, as it happens, was basically everything down to their very life. As I talk about in Lives of the Stoics, a very sizable percentage of the Stoics departed this earth by order of an executioner.

3:05Yet, that didn't mean that the Stoics could not be happy people. It didn't mean that they weren't able to enjoy bright, fresh mornings or long, meandering dinners with friends. As Springsteen sings on Badlands, it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive. Even the strictest of Stoics would have agreed that it was woefully insufficient to simply describe life as a preferred indifferent. Life was a wonderful gift, one that they were grateful to have, one that they sought to make the most of while they had it. And so must we. It doesn't matter that times are dark or violent or uncertain. It doesn't matter that our knowledge of human nature and biology makes it impossible for us to be naive about the world.

3:45Still, we must be grateful. We must seize this gift that we've been given while we have it. We should be glad that we're alive. Glad that at least for the moment, being alive is far superior to any and all of the alternatives. Glad because we realize how many dead or dying people would do anything to trade places with us. And that's what I mean to say. Obviously, I have this Memento Mori coin. We talk about the practice of Memento Mori here at Daily Stoke all the time. but I don't want that to be mistaken with some sort of rejection of the gift of life itself. And so that's today's message. I'll talk to y 'all soon.