Stoicism

Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that teaches the cultivation of inner peace, virtue, and resilience by focusing only on what we can control and accepting what we cannot. Founded by Zeno of Citium and later advanced by thinkers like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, Stoicism emphasizes reason, ethical living, and emotional discipline. Rather than suppressing emotion, Stoicism encourages facing life’s challenges with clarity, courage, and composure—seeing obstacles as opportunities for growth and living in alignment with one’s values regardless of circumstance.

Wisdom: The Organizing Virtue

February 15, 2026February 15, 2026 B. John 49 Views 0 Comments Civic Leadership, Moral Philosophy, Donald Trump, Political Judgment, Appalachian State, Boone NC, Modern Stoicism, Stoicism, wisdom, Practical Wisdom

This entry is part 59 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

What happens when leadership confuses force with wisdom?

Learn a 3-step pause to outthink panic and regain control over decision-making. We are living in a moment when reactivity often masquerades as strength. Foreign policy escalates without proportion. Economic decisions shift with the winds of applause. Dissent is treated as disloyalty. But courage without wisdom becomes recklessness. Justice without wisdom becomes punishment. Temperance without wisdom becomes denial. Something essential is missing when judgment fails at scale.

In this new essay, I reflect on what Stoic wisdom actually looks like — not as abstraction, but as disciplined judgment under pressure. From sleepless nights of personal uncertainty to watching national decisions unfold, I explore why wisdom is the organizing virtue that keeps both a life and a nation from unraveling.

Read more in Wisdom: The Organizing Virtue.

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Choosing Enough

February 11, 2026 B. John 74 Views 0 Comments philosophy, Temperance, ChoosingEnough, Simplicity, AttentionEconomy, Enough, Stoicism

This entry is part 6 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 58 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

We live in a world that is very good at convincing us that more is always better. More food, more comfort, more information, more outrage, more things. Our phones are built to keep our attention just a little longer. Our culture treats abundance as harmless and excess as normal. But when everything is available all the time, the real question is no longer what we can have. It is what we should choose to take in, and what it is quietly costing us.

Temperance offers an unfashionable answer. Not denial. Not purity. Enough. It asks us to notice our appetites, not just for food, but for attention, certainty, comfort, and stimulation. It invites us to consider whether what we consume is actually nourishing us, or simply keeping us busy and restless. In an age engineered to keep us reaching, choosing enough becomes a quiet act of freedom, one that clears space for presence, joy, and a life that feels more truly our own.

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Civic Duty as Lived Responsibility

February 1, 2026 B. John 136 Views 0 Comments civic duty, social responsibility, community care, volunteerism, Wesleyan theology, Stoicism, faith in action, justice

This entry is part 57 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Where will someone sleep in your city tonight? Civic duty rarely announces itself. It does not arrive as a moment of clarity or a flood of inspiration. More often, it looks like routine. Mats laid out across a facility space. Meals delivered and set out. Volunteers arriving in shifts through the night so others can sleep indoors when the temperature drops.

We talk about civic duty as an idea, but it is better understood as a practice. It begins when concern becomes action. Not because the work feels noble, but because shared life demands it. When a community faces need, and some people have the capacity to respond, responsibility follows. Not as heroism. As participation.

This essay reflects on civic duty as lived responsibility. Drawing on Stoic philosophy, Wesleyan theology, and a wider moral consensus across traditions, it asks what it really means to show up for others when the work is repetitive, incomplete, and often unseen.

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Justice as Responsibility: A Companion Examination

January 7, 2026 B. John 162 Views 1 Comment Stoic philosophy, justice, Christian ethics, Social Justice, moral responsibility, civic virtue, moral coherence, faith and ethics, justice as practice

This entry is part 56 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

Justice is one of the most frequently used moral words in public life, and one of the least examined. It appears in politics, religion, social movements, and law. Because it is so familiar, we often assume we mean the same thing when we use it. We usually do not.

Serious moral traditions have resisted reducing justice to feeling or slogan. Stoic philosophy, Christian ethics, and modern research all return to a similar conclusion: Justice is not primarily about emotion or ideology. It is about responsibility. Responsibility to others, to the common good, and to living in a way that keeps belief and behavior aligned.

Seen this way, justice is not a moment or a performance. It is discipline. A steady practice carried out over time. It asks for clarity without cruelty, conviction without self-righteousness, and persistence without spectacle. Justice endures not because it is loud, but because it is rooted.

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Justice as a Way of Life

January 6, 2026January 7, 2026 B. John 200 Views 1 Comment Christian ethics, civic responsibility, faith in action, everyday justice, moral courage, justice, Stoic Virtues, Social Justice

This entry is part 55 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

Justice is a word we hear all the time, but people often understand it differently. It shows up in courtrooms, sermons, protest signs, and political speeches. Before it became a slogan, justice was seen as a way to live. Not just a stance or an opinion, but a mode of living.

For me, justice starts with faith. The prophet Micah says it simply: Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God. This command is not abstract. Justice is not something to admire from afar. It is something you do, often quietly, sometimes without certainty, and sometimes at a real cost.

I have seen justice take shape in public gatherings and protest marches, but I have also seen it in smaller, steadier acts. Helping someone get a meal. Standing up for a person who cannot speak for themselves. Showing up again when the work seems slow and unfinished. Justice does not always announce itself. Most often, it looks like ordinary people refusing to look away.

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Stoic Virtues: The Courage to Decide

December 22, 2025December 22, 2025 B. John 262 Views 3 Comments Stoicism, Moral Clarity, endurance, grief, wisdom, Courage, Life Lessons, Faith

This entry is part 54 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

Most of us think courage looks like pushing forward, fighting, and refusing to give in. But sometimes courage takes a quieter form. Sometimes it shows up not as effort, but as clarity, not as resistance, but as resolve.

During my mother’s final hospital stay, she listened patiently as doctors talked about rehab and recovery. After they left, she said calmly, “I’m just done.” She wasn’t asking for permission or advice. She was stating a decision shaped by a lifetime of endurance. A woman raised in scarcity. A woman who carried family responsibility without complaint. A woman who knew the difference between fear, despair, and judgment.

In this essay, I reflect on what her final decision taught me about courage. Drawing on Stoic philosophy, scripture, and lived experience, I explore courage not as bravado, but as alignment. Not as clinging, but as choosing without illusion. If you’ve ever wondered what courage really looks like when life stops negotiating, I invite you to read more.

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Introduction to Stoic Virtues

December 4, 2025December 3, 2025 B. John 162 Views 0 Comments humility, Stoic Virtues, Mercy, Restraint, self-control, Integrity

This entry is part 53 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

Most of us try to live with some mix of courage, honesty, and patience, but we rarely stop to ask where those instincts come from or what they are pulling us toward. I spent months working through the Stoic practices without realizing they were preparing me for something larger. Only later did I see that these routines were pointing me toward the four Stoic virtues. Wisdom. Courage. Justice. Temperance. Not as lofty ideals, but as quiet directions for daily life.

This new essay opens the door to that deeper work. It reflects on how the practices steady us and how the virtues give that effort its shape and purpose. If you want to see where this journey leads next, the full piece is up now.

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How to Begin the Stoic Practices

December 3, 2025 B. John 287 Views 0 Comments sympatheia, morning reflection, voluntary discomfort, daily habits, evening contemplation, Memento Mori, Journaling, Stoic practices

This entry is part 1 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

This entry is part 52 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Most people imagine Stoic practice as a long list of habits they should somehow manage to fit into an already crowded day. The truth is simpler. Most practices don’t begin with a grand plan. They begin the way mine did. A quiet morning walk becomes a morning reflection. A hard season pulls you into sympatheia. Three lines in a notebook settle into evening contemplation. The practices grow inside an ordinary life. They do not sit on top of it.

This closing essay is an invitation to begin without pressure. You don’t need every practice. You don’t need hours of silence. You only need one small place to start. A moment of attention in a day that is already unfolding. If you want to build a steadier inner life without turning Stoicism into homework, this is the place to step in.

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Virtues: Acceptance

November 25, 2025December 3, 2025 B. John 224 Views 0 Comments grief, virtue, wisdom, equanimity, Stoicism, Resilience, Acceptance, life transitions

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 51 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Acceptance is not resignation. It is the moment when the mind stops fighting reality and starts working with it. I learned that watching a man who rides a three-wheeled electric bike around Tampa with a smile that seems to rise from the inside out.

The Stoics taught that acceptance begins when we stop struggling against what we cannot change. I have been learning this the slow way, through grief, uncertainty, and the small moments that reveal what the heart is holding.

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Stoic Practice: Rehearsing Death and Accepting Fate

November 14, 2025 B. John 438 Views 6 Comments grief, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Acceptance, Seneca, personal growth, mortality

This entry is part 3 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

This entry is part 50 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

I grew up with death in the next room. My father managed a funeral home, and for a time our family lived in a small apartment above it. Most kids grew up with kitchen noise and television. I grew up with the quiet hum of grief drifting through the walls. I did not think much about it at the time, but it shaped how I see life. It also shaped how I understand endings. Later, I buried friends during the AIDS crisis. I cared for one of them in my home until he died. Those years taught me that death does not wait for a convenient moment. It just arrives.

The Stoics understood this impulse to drift into denial. They practiced rehearsing death so they could return to what mattered. The practice does not pull you toward fear. It pulls you toward clarity. In my own life, the deaths of family and friends have reminded me of this same truth. We do not control the length of our days. We control how we use the ones we have. If you want to read more about how the practice shaped my own path through grief, transition, and aging, you can find the full essay here.

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Thinking Our Way to Character

November 11, 2025 B. John 308 Views 0 Comments neuroscience, Resilience, mindfulness, philosophy, James Allen, moral character

This entry is part 49 of 59 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Our thoughts are not just passing moods or fleeting opinions. They are the architects of our character. They are the hidden builders of who we become. James Allen said it more than a century ago: “A man is literally what he thinks.” The Stoics would have nodded in agreement. The Apostle Paul might have, too. Each taught that transformation begins not with circumstance, but with the mind’s quiet work of shaping how we see, judge, and act.
In Thinking Our Way to Character, I explore how Allen’s moral vision aligns with Stoic and Christian wisdom, and how both still hold up under the weight of modern life. Through philosophy, faith, and a bit of neuroscience, the essay looks at how disciplined thought turns daily struggle into purpose. If you’ve ever wondered whether we can truly think our way toward peace, purpose, and resilience, this one’s worth the read.

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