The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

This episode explores how expectation quietly robs us of the only time we ever truly have: today. Through a wry story from John O’Donohue and Seneca’s sharp warning about waiting on tomorrow, we see how imagined futures colonize the present and dull our awareness of what’s already here. Drawing unexpected parallels with Ecclesiastes and Marcus Aurelius, the episode clears away what ultimately doesn’t matter. What remains is an invitation to let go of borrowed worries and actually live the day that’s unfolding.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Can Rise To Greater Heightshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-can-rise

This episode is a quiet pause at the start of the day—a meditation on mornings as gifts rather than obligations. Drawing on Stoic gratitude and four short poems by Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Rumi, and Frank O’Hara, it invites us to meet the day with attentiveness instead of haste. Each poem becomes a way of honoring the simple fact of waking up, before goals, worries, or noise rush in. It’s an offering of stillness, meant to be lingered with and returned to, one morning at a time.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Can Rise To Greater Heightshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-can-rise

This episode examines a quietly radical insight: that much of our suffering comes not from pain itself, but from our attempt to escape it. Drawing a line between Alan Watts’ observation and Stoic acceptance, we explore how resistance to reality keeps distress alive long after the moment has passed. Epictetus helps sharpen the lesson by showing how misplacing “the good” in things we can’t control guarantees frustration and conflict.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Can Rise To Greater Heightshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-can-rise

This episode reframes Stoicism not as a quest for unreachable perfection, but as a practice of steady progress. Drawing on the ancient idea of the prokoptōn—the one who makes progress—we explore why even Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius saw themselves as students rather than sages. Stoic philosophy, we discover, is less about arriving and more about returning: again and again, to reflection, correction, and effort. To live as a Stoic is simply to desire progress, and to keep good company along the way.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Don’t Always Be Beginning To Livehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-dont-always-94c

This episode reflects on how awareness of mortality sharpens our sense of what truly matters, through the unforgettable lesson Randy Pausch taught with a spilled soda and Marcus Aurelius’s reminder that every day arrives with a due date.When time is no longer assumed to be endless, possessions lose their grip and postponed priorities come into focus. Far from being morbid, this clarity is freeing—it helps us release what doesn’t matter and act on what does.The question left hanging is simple and urgent: how will you use today’s opportunity before it quietly expires?👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Don’t Always Be Beginning To Livehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-dont-always-94c

This episode explores an often-overlooked Stoic lesson: that even wisdom, effort, and reflection must be practiced in moderation.Through David Hume’s gentle warning against burnout—and his nuanced engagement with Stoic exercises—we see how pushing too hard, whether in work or in contemplating life’s fragility, can undermine the very growth we seek.Seneca’s counsel to rest the mind and Hume’s reminder that “going slower” can get us there sooner converge on a timeless truth. Flourishing isn’t found in relentless strain or constant gloom, but in the measured balance that preserves both health and gratitude.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrievalhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8

This episode dives into the Stoic idea of the “passions”—those powerful storms of anger, fear, envy, and grief that arise not from events themselves but from the judgments we attach to them.Epictetus teaches that emotional turmoil begins in the domain of desire, where unexamined impressions harden into false beliefs about what is good or bad.By learning to pause, test our impressions, and assent only to what is true, we reclaim mastery over our inner world.The work is gradual but transformative: each moment of careful attention becomes a step toward clarity, resilience, and the deep calm that comes from governing one’s own mind.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrievalhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8

This episode explores listening as a form of courage and clarity—an active practice that shapes how we understand the world and ourselves.From Zeno’s simple reminder that we have “two ears and one mouth” to Epictetus’s deeper lesson on assent, we learn that true listening isn’t passive reception but deliberate attention. It invites empathy, reveals uncomfortable truths, and creates the space in which wisdom can emerge.When we listen with patience and discernment—to others, to nature, to our own inner signals—we reclaim our freedom to choose our responses and, in doing so, walk a wiser path through life.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Virtue Doesn't Need To Signalhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-virtue-doesnt-f2d