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Memento Mori: A Practice for the Living

August 16, 2025August 14, 2025 B. John 2863 Views 0 Comments reconnecting with friends, mortality salience, Gratitude, Memento Mori, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, mortality reflection, life purpose

We don’t know how much gas is left in the tank. That truth, far from morbid, can be a guide to living with gratitude, courage, and clarity.

Memento Mori is the Stoic reminder that life is finite. For me, it has meant fewer grudges, more calls to friends, and a better sense of when to set work aside. It has reminded me that my “last great days” may already have happened, or they may still be ahead—but I will only recognize them if I am paying attention.

This is not about fearing death. It is about remembering life. When we keep the end in view, even quietly, the days we have become more precious and more alive.

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Stoic Practices: The Dichotomy of Control

August 14, 2025August 13, 2025 B. John 1127 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, personal growth, Dichotomy of Control, Stoic practices, practical philosophy

The Dichotomy of Control teaches that some things are up to us and some are not. My own health journey and a job loss taught me that lesson in very different ways. Both proved the same point: act fully where you can, and accept what you cannot change.

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The Graduation Gift

August 12, 2025August 15, 2025 B. John 2773 Views 1 Comment Epictetus, appalachian state university, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Stoic philosophy, high school graduation, life transitions, personal growth

A framed silhouette of my niece, standing before the mountains at sunset, carries a message for her high school graduation: “Behind you, all your memories. Before you, all your dreams. Around you, all who love you. Within you, all you need.” It is a blessing, but also a challenge — to live with gratitude for the past, purpose in the present, and trust in the strength we already carry. In its quiet way, it’s pure Stoic wisdom.

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Rising from the Defeat That Wasn’t

July 28, 2025August 1, 2025 B. John 2357 Views 0 Comments Seneca, Maya Angelou, Grace, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Amor Fati

Sometimes the worst defeats are the ones you didn’t cause but still feel responsible for. A job ends. A friendship slips away. You tell yourself it wasn’t your fault, but that doesn’t stop the questions. Maya Angelou once wrote that defeat might be necessary—not because we deserve it, but because it reveals who we really are. This essay reflects on regret and unexpected renewal through the lens of Stoic thought and lived experience. What you rise from, it turns out, may be the truest part of you.

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Boone, Facebook, and Marcus Aurelius…Oh My

July 23, 2025July 24, 2025 B. John 1229 Views 0 Comments Modern Wisdom, Healing Places, Reflection, Appalachian State, Stoicism, Boone, Marcus Aurelius, Inspiration, Seneca, NC

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.

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A Way Out of No Way: John Lewis and the Moral Will

July 20, 2025 B. John 2441 Views 1 Comment Abrahamic traditions, John Lewis, tikkun olam, Bodhisattva, Stoicism, nonviolence, Selma, justice, Epictetus, Heather Cox Richardson, Civil Rights, Marcus Aurelius, moral courage, good trouble, Buddhist, Jewish justice

“Lewis did not need a theory of justice. He lived one.”
Five years after the death of Congressman John Lewis, his words and witness still call us to the hard, necessary work of moral courage. Drawing from Christian theology, the Black church, and the discipline of nonviolence, Lewis embodied a philosophy of action that mirrors the core of Stoic thought—and resonates just as deeply with the teachings of Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. He did not merely protest injustice. He met it with clarity, hope, and a soul unshaken by cruelty. His legacy extends beyond American history. It is human wisdom.

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Amor Fati: Love What Happens

July 13, 2025August 5, 2025 B. John 2104 Views 2 Comments Amor Fati, Hope, Serenity Prayer, Reinhold Niebuhr, Acceptance, Moral Clarit, Stoicism, Fate, Marcus Aurelius, justice, Resilience, Courage

In a time of political unrest, personal uncertainty, and social fracture, the ancient Stoic idea of Amor Fati — to love one’s fate — offers a powerful challenge. Not to surrender to injustice, but to meet it with clarity, courage, and compassion. This essay reflects on the tension between acceptance and action, drawing on Marcus Aurelius, the Serenity Prayer, and a timely conversation with Rev. Justin LaRosa to explore how we can live fully and faithfully in the world we have, not just the one we wish for.

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Getting Back Up

July 4, 2025July 3, 2025 B. John 916 Views 0 Comments Routine, Marcus Aurelius, Transition

There’s a kind of quiet that doesn’t feel restful. It doesn’t come with peace, but with the absence of direction, of companionship, of the little structures that give shape to a day. I felt that type of quiet this past Wednesday. Not the calm kind I enjoy on my early morning walks, but something uneasy. An emptiness after the full rush of last week. Last week, I had a purpose. But then came Wednesday: quieter, aimless, still. No appointments. No Teams meetings. No urgent tasks. Just me, in a room that felt too quiet.