I have started exploring Seneca/stoicism again. Prompted partly by a recent submission here, partly by personal reasons. Instead of consuming other peoples interpretation of stoicism I decided to go as close to the source as feasible for me. I have read Letters from a stoic a number of times before and my copy is filled with highlights, but this time I think I will try to limit myself to one or two letters a day and then really think about them properly.

The first one really hit me hard and prompted me to write out my own thoughts (https://jesperreiche.com/seneca-letter-2/) whether I will keep doing that I am a little unsure. It feels on the border of how personal I want to be/share on my blog.

P.S. I can see the irony in writing about me going to the source instead of consuming other peoples interpretation and then sharing a link to my own interpretation :)

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ravshan 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This reminded me of this post (https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoic/comments/1823mip/). I don't really know what stoicism means but that was hilarious.

	▲	q-base 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Haha I apart from both of them relating to stoicism I am not sure there is much connection. But scrolling through some of the comments on reddit sure made me smile - so thanks for that :)

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techiferous 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Instead of consuming other peoples interpretation of stoicism I decided to go as close to the source as feasible for me.

Good for you! Everybody has their own "twist" on Stoicism, and that's fine. You have to find your own twist on it; you have to make it your own.

In my own experience, what is most rewarding and promotes my progress the most, is when I put philosophy into action. Then I get authentic feedback from life about what actually works. It helps me separate mere opinions and good sounding ideas from true insight.

	▲	q-base 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I think you hit the nail on the head here and something else I seem to struggle a bit with. I am very good at reading, thinking, contemplating. But I need to get more out of my head - from lack of better wording. I actually wrote "read less - do more". In my notebook recently. So I could not agree more with what you are saying.

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jcynix 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Good read thanks. I totally can relate to the choices problem. It's rather easy with physical books (or was, as we have little room left for even more books ;-0) but ebooks are "dangerous" too.

Regarding cameras, it's harder (and more expensive) to wrangle with gear acquisition syndrome (GAS) but after switching from Canon EOS to Fuji, because the Canon stuff was too heavy when hiking, I managed to restrain myself most of the time. Because the question always is whether my images would become better with different gear or with more trial and error.

I opted for trial and error and eagerly watch a selected number of YouTube channels who almost always show me that I should and can improve myself and not my gear.

	▲	q-base 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Thanks a lot! Yes, I agree that it is easier with physical books although even there I can already see that I may be painting myself into a corner. But ebooks are obviously "worse" in that regard. I loved when I found StandardEbooks.org and Gutenberg - all these classic books for free. But over time I have realized that I have so many of them on my kindle and always seems to find new ones rather than finishing existing. With regards to cameras, I also came to Fuji although from Nikon. But I agree, the important part is getting better at photography and the better you know your camera the more it can become an extension of yourself. There is just something very alluring about the daydream of having the new camera and taking those "perfect" images. When in fact nothing is keeping me from going out and shooting those "perfect" images with the camera I already have.

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BeetleB 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I hope you get more out of it than I did. I don't recall which of Seneca's work I read several years ago, but to me it was ... meh?

Some of the stuff I strongly agreed with, but I didn't derive value because I already had the mindset. Other stuff I disagreed with, and the book didn't really convince me. Then there was the stuff in between.

Overall, it felt like something you or I could have written - I didn't see something insightful that enlightened me.

Not to take away from your essay, which I thoroughly agree with :-)

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RagnarD 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Based on some reading in a study group using both the Hays and Waterfield translations, I'd definitely recommend Waterfield over Hays.

	▲	q-base 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Interesting. I have read quite a few translations of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and also found a clear favorite. But I am actually not even sure which translation of Letters from a Stoic my current book is. I have just always liked the language in it.

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wrongtrousers 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Thanks for the writing and for posting about it here! Found some nice photographs and other content that I'll dig more into later. Liking what I've found so far :)

	▲	q-base 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Thank you very much for your kind words. I think that I have finally reconciled with myself that I will primarily be sharing images on my own website and not social media, even though that may mean that very few people see it. So I am glad to hear you saw some and liked them :)

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throwaway777x 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

To me, if you read On the Shortness of Life and take it to heart, you would delete your blog as a waste of time and mental energy.

	▲	q-base 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I get your point. But it depends on how you read it. If I get joy out of writing then I would not consider that a waste :)

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sherlock_h 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Thank you for sharing. The choices piece hit home for me. Forwarded this to friends.

	▲	q-base 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Thank you very much.