We often imagine philosophy as a distant, academic pursuit that can seem abstract and untethered. But Stoicism has never been like that. From its earliest roots in ancient Greece, Stoicism was always meant to be lived, not just studied. It was forged not in ivory towers but in marketplaces, battlefields, and courtrooms. Its great teachers, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca, weren’t cloistered scholars. They were slaves, emperors, and advisors. They lived in the thick of things, often in perilous times, as do we. In our current world, shaped by uncertainty, political upheaval, global conflict, and the erosion of trust in institutions, many of us are looking for something steady. Not false reassurance. Not a distraction. But clarity. A framework that doesn’t promise control over the chaos but a way to remain centered within it.