Moral Letters

Moral Letters

This is a modern take on Seneca's Moral Letters to Lucilius. I use them as tools in the ongoing search for what it means to live a good life. Although Seneca's words have been mined for centuries, each generation keeps turning up gemstones. I seek to polish old stones to show them in a new light.
Jan
17
An empty hiking trail leading to craggy mountains - Moral Letters to Lucilius

059 - On Joy And Enjoyment - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Joy as we understand it does not depend on what possessions you are currently enjoying, and what pleasurable experiences you may be seeking. It is a condition arising from a tranquil mind, undisturbed by external things.
4 min read
Jan
13
Empty hiking trail running between trees - Moral Letters to Lucilius

058 - On Existence - Moral Letters for Modern Times

If wishes could create reality, would we live in paradise or hell? I fear we are on the path to finding out.
5 min read
Jan
10
Green fields, pine forest, and mountains - Moral Letters to Lucilius

057 - On Outrunning Yourself - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Though we travel to the ends of the earth, we cannot outrun ourselves. Rather than looking to travel in more luxury and greater style, we should sit still with ourselves and consider whether we are running to something or running away from it.
4 min read
Jan
06
Long view of an alpine plain with a glacial lake and mountains - Moral Letters to Lucilius

056 - On Calm Amidst Bedlam - Moral Letters for Modern Times

To retire from work life does not mean you have retired from your worries. To take the one step without taking the other is to change places but not position.
3 min read
Jan
03
Trail with hikers and trees - Moral Letters to Lucilius

055 - On Cohen's Condos - Moral Letters for Modern Times

We assume the prominent are thrilled with their privileges, and made content thereby. But what do we know of their inner thoughts, their joys and their worries?
4 min read
Jan
01
Modern apartment buildings on a harbor - Moral Letters to Lucilius

018 - On Deprivation - Moral Letters for Modern Times

You do not need what you think you need to be happy, because all you need is within you.
4 min read
Dec
30
Path winding through small huts - Moral Letters to Lucilius

054 - On Existence And Its Opposite - Moral Letters for Modern Times

There is not one of us who could not be carried off today. What does it say if you cannot say you are living today, but only preparing for a tomorrow that may never come?
3 min read
Dec
27
Traditional alpine farmhouse - Moral Letters to Lucilius

053 - On Knowing Your Limits - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Awkwardness, thy name is Smalltalk! And to know that I will inflict myself on an unwitting dinner table with my unwitty remarks makes me wish most fervently to return to my hermit’s cave.
4 min read
Dec
23
Alp farms dotted in green landscape - Moral Letters to Lucilius

052 - On Role Models - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Those who see much while believing they know little are much rarer and more valuable than those who believe they know much and consequently see little.
4 min read
Dec
20
Riverbed with forests and mountain - Moral Letters to Lucilius

051 - On Seven Popular Places - Moral Letters for Modern Times

For those who are training their minds, solitude may be the best way to avoid early unwelcome tests. If you do not wish to be tempted, do not wander blithely through the bazaar of modern desires.
4 min read