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Virtues: Acceptance

November 25, 2025December 3, 2025 B. John 246 Views 0 Comments virtue, wisdom, equanimity, Stoicism, Resilience, Acceptance, life transitions, grief

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 51 of 60 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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Introduction to Stoic Virtues

December 4, 2025December 3, 2025 B. John 180 Views 0 Comments Stoic Virtues, Mercy, Restraint, self-control, Integrity, humility

This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 53 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

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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Stoic Virtues: The Courage to Decide

December 22, 2025December 22, 2025 B. John 291 Views 3 Comments Moral Clarity, endurance, grief, wisdom, Courage, Life Lessons, Faith, Stoicism

This entry is part 54 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 3 of 8 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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Justice as a Way of Life

January 6, 2026January 7, 2026 B. John 233 Views 2 Comments faith in action, everyday justice, moral courage, justice, Stoic Virtues, Social Justice, Christian ethics, civic responsibility

This entry is part 55 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 4 of 8 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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Justice as Responsibility: A Companion Examination

January 7, 2026 B. John 225 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 5 of 8 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 56 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

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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Choosing Enough

February 11, 2026 B. John 117 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, philosophy, Temperance, ChoosingEnough, Simplicity, AttentionEconomy, Enough

This entry is part 58 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series The Stoic Virtues

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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Wisdom: The Organizing Virtue

February 15, 2026February 15, 2026 B. John 157 Views 0 Comments wisdom, Practical Wisdom, Civic Leadership, Moral Philosophy, Donald Trump, Political Judgment, Appalachian State, Boone NC, Modern Stoicism, Stoicism

This entry is part 7 of 8 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 59 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

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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When Justice Outruns Wisdom

February 27, 2026 B. John 49 Views 0 Comments wisdom, Civic Leadership, Institutional Integrity, Donald Trump, Moral Discipline, Stoicism, Epictetus, justice, Leadership, Seneca

This entry is part 8 of 8 in the series The Stoic Virtues

This entry is part 60 of 60 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

“I told her I was ready to give up. I wasn’t. I was frustrated.”

What began as a communication bottleneck in a church office became a lesson in leadership. When drafts moved without review and a public link went live incorrectly, urgency surged. The concern was legitimate. The tone was not. Justice rose quickly. Wisdom lagged behind. Where has urgency outrun wisdom in your week?

In this new essay, I contemplate what the Stoics understood about anger, discipline, and leadership—and why the same dynamic I saw in myself is evident at the highest levels of national leadership. Anger is a signal. It is not a strategy. Wisdom must organize justice, or institutions begin to fray.

Read: When Justice Outruns Wisdom.