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Viktor Frankl: The Last Human Freedom

May 23, 2026May 23, 2026 B. John 626 Views 0 Comments personal growth, Viktor Frankl, philosophy of life, Man’s Search for Meaning, Meaning and Purpose, Stoicism, Grief and Loss, Mental Resilience, Resilience

This entry is in the series The Stoics

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

There are seasons in life when the question is no longer whether things are difficult. The difficulty is already there. A parent dies. A career changes unexpectedly. A familiar version of life begins slipping away, and suddenly the future feels less certain than it once did. In those moments, we are left asking a quieter and more important question: What now?

In this essay, I reflect on Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, psychiatrist, and author of Man’s Search for Meaning. Through Frankl’s life and philosophy, and through some deeply personal experiences of grief, transition, and rebuilding, I explore the idea that meaning is not something we discover once and hold forever. It is something we continue choosing, step by step, even when life feels unsettled. Read more.

Kings Mountain Boone NC Featured Places

Stoic Practices: Negative Visualization

November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 B. John 518 Views 0 Comments negative visualization, Preparation, Gratitude, Resilience, Premeditatio Malorum, grief, mindfulness

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is in the series Stoicism Practices

What if imagining loss could make life feel fuller, not darker? The Stoics called it premeditatio malorum—the quiet practice of picturing what could go wrong, not to suffer in advance, but to steady the heart for when it does.

In this new essay, I write about sitting beside my mother near the end of her life, and later facing my own health scare. Both moments taught me that rehearsing misfortune isn’t about fear. It’s about gratitude. The kind that comes from realizing how much you already have.

Boone Culture NC Deep Thoughts Featured Places Stoicism

Boone, Facebook, and Marcus Aurelius…Oh My

July 23, 2025July 24, 2025 B. John 1544 Views 1 Comment Boone, Marcus Aurelius, Inspiration, Seneca, NC, Modern Wisdom, Healing Places, Reflection, Appalachian State, Stoicism

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

I came across a meme that read, “There are two places you need to go often: The place that heals you. The place that inspires you.” It struck me deeply, because for me, one of those places is Boone, North Carolina, where I went to college. But as I reflected on that idea through the lens of Stoic philosophy, I realized the Stoics might offer a very different kind of guidance: to go inward. This essay explores the contrast, and surprising harmony, between modern healing and ancient inner retreat.