There Is a Very Good Reason Why I Love Stoicism

Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash

Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. — Epictetus, Enchiridion, 8

A couple of days ago, I went to a store looking for some groceries. I was listening to a wonderful song I adore. I parked my car in front of the store. I sang, smiled peacefully, and even had some moves before leaving it.

The store manager was observing me. When I said “Hi” enthusiastically, he greeted me back with the biggest smile before adding:

“If everybody was as free as you are, no one would have to suffer. I probably never expressed it before, but I’m looking for your visits to brighten my day and restore my faith in pure joy and resilience despite hardships. Thank you!”

If you are a returning reader or friend, you know how much those simple words mean to me. Appealingly, we come to this existence naked with no material asset. We leave this physical world the same way.

It seems to me that what truly matters is what our soul will keep throughout this magnificent journey we call life:

• The unconditional love we feel even for strangers — be it humans or animals, as well as to the whole Universe,
• The genuine and magical connections, 
• The souls we touch — sometimes even the lives we may change — without planning to daily,
• The healthy relationships we build.
  
  

Those are our real assets. Who we are, how we show up and give back to the world every single day. Thus, you can imagine the blast I had!

Here are the song’s lyrics, as well as my special gift to all of you:

Raise your voice in song

We can still sing

And the songs are still so much part of our lives

And if one day you feel you’ll break

Stand tall; stand like a palm stretching towards the sky

Don’t be defeated; don’t break down

Don’t be afraid

Be a dream blossoming in the desert

Your song among the chorus

Shakes my joyous heart

Healing all my wounds

When you dance, I dance

I’m compelled to dance

Our dreams become intertwined

I’m compelled to dance

Don’t be defeated; don’t break down

Don’t be afraid

Be a dream blossoming in the desert

Raise your voice in song

We can still sing!