My interest in philosophy is quite pragmatic. The own lifetime is strongly limited, so I want to find out as quickly as possible how to make the most out of the available time. Why not use the groundwork of others who have already found functioning forms of life and ways of thinking ages ago. One does not need to reinvent the wheel.
Or as Ward Farnsworth writes:
Life is regrettably short because it does not allow us enough trials to become as wise as we would wish. Stoic philosophy is a compensation – a substitute for time, or simulation of it. Stoicism means to offer the wisdom while skipping the repetition; it tries to get by contemplation some of the lessons, immunities, and other features of character we would acquire naturally if we lived long enough.
What makes stoic philosophy so special for me is that it wonderfully combines with my existing image of a good life. My claim to a good life, a beautiful coexistence, and solid emotional health fits perfectly with Stoicism and is expanded and improved by what people like Seneca and Epictetus said over 2000 years ago. That these ideas have survived since then and still glow with relevance leaves me with a strangely soothed feeling.
It will be difficult for me here to explain how much The Practicing Stoic has given me. Just as it was difficult to explain how much the books by Cal Newport have expanded my life. This is not my first book on Stoicism, How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci I already liked a lot. The Practicing Stoic, however, has good potential to become my personal bible.
While reading, I underlined something on almost every page. My approving nod, enriched with murmurs of "Yes, exactly!" did not end, and quite a few people had to live with me constantly sending them pictures of excerpts from the book and commenting on them with profound insights like "this, so much," "big mood," and "!!!!".
I would love to quote 200 things from the book here so everyone realizes how good every bit of wisdom in it is. However, the book is also so beautiful as an object that one should own it and browse through it.
Fan-tas-tic! Maybe my book of the year.
