Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year)

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeWelcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 139.The alarm goes off. You reach for your phone. Not because you need to—just because it’s there. Nothing urgent. Nothing necessary.And when you finally get up, the pull remains. Not toward stillness—but toward more stimulation. More noise. More distraction.This is the quiet pattern of most days: not crisis, not collapse—just a gradual movement away from wh...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeWelcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 138.Most conflicts begin with a story we tell ourselves.“They meant to insult me.”“They knew this would hurt.”“They’re trying to undermine me.”The mind fills in motives. In seconds, the event feels personal, intentional, and almost malicious. Once that story takes hold, anger seems justified. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius interrupts that story with a different quest...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeWelcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 137.The boxes are packed. The room echoes. The keys are handed over. Something stable disappears, and suddenly the life that made sense yesterday no longer exists today.And the question appears, quietly but insistently: Where do I belong now?This is the problem Musonius Rufus addresses when he speaks about exile. And unlike many philosophers, he knew the subject firs...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeWelcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 136.You don’t need a skull on your desk or a Latin motto in your bio to practice memento mori.Montaigne, a sixteenth-century philosopher influenced by the Stoics, treats mortality as a human issue rather than a rare or dramatic event. He removes death from the category of “special occasions” and places it where it truly belongs: within everyday life.Montaigne famously relies on...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeWelcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 135.Most people build happiness like a house on sand—on approval, outcomes, comfort, and conditions. It looks solid when the weather is calm. But when circumstances change—as they always do—the foundation gives way.Seneca insists the mistake is not bad luck, but bad architecture. “You ask me what is the foundation of a happy life?” he writes. And his answer is not comfort, succ...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeWelcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 134.We've all been there, someone interrupts you mid-sentence. The moment is small, almost forgettable—yet something tightens inside. A warmth in the chest. A quiet bracing in the jaw. The urge to correct, to defend, to be seen as right.It all happens before a single clear thought forms. And already, a choice is waiting to be made.This is the moment Senec...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeIn this episode of Dying Every Day, I’m joined by my good friend Brandon Tumblin (The Strong Stoic Newsletter) for a casual chat on the fundamentals of Stoicism. We explore practical ways to apply Stoic philosophy in daily life and reflect on life's greater purpose and the Stoic commitment to building a just society.Key TakeawaysVirtue is the only true goodThe dichotomy of controlBuilding a just societyPractical tools for life’s challenges---<...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeIn this episode of Dying Every Day, we explore the ancient wisdom behind money, prosperity, and the search for a good life. Drawing on Seneca’s teaching that 'the proper limit to a person’s wealth is first having what is essential, and second, having what is enough,' we examine why chasing more never brings contentment—and why living according to nature frees us from endless craving.With insights from Boethius, who reminds us that fortune’s...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeIn this episode of Dying Every Day, we explore the Stoic idea that virtue is a skill—something practiced, not merely understood. Drawing especially on the teachings of Musonius Rufus, the “Roman Socrates,” we look at why the Stoics believed that philosophy must be lived like an athlete trains: through repetition, effort, and real-world tests.With insights from Aristotle, Epictetus, and William James, this meditation shows how character is shaped not by what we admire or read, but...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeIn this meditation, we explore Seneca’s powerful teaching on emotional freedom and the art of holding your self-worth within—not in the shifting opinions of others. Seneca writes: “The wise man is invulnerable to insult… He stands above both the applause and the condemnation of the crowd, for he has placed his esteem within his own soul, where honor is incorruptible and peace undisturbed.”Most of us rise and fall with praise and criticism. A compliment li...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeIn this meditation, we explore one of Seneca’s most profound teachings on wealth, desire, and freedom:“You ask what is the proper limit to a person’s wealth? First, having what is essential; second, having what is enough. If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor. If you shape it according to opinion, you will never be rich.”Seneca reminds us that poverty is not measured by what we lack, but by what we...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeDying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project (and Perennial Meditations newsletter). Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) contemplate what it means to live a ‘good’ life.---  🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations---  🦉 Additional Resources: Explore the Perenni...