Good day, Stoics.
The Stoics told us to “live according to nature.”
That can sound vague until we understand what they meant.
They weren’t telling us to abandon civilization and go live in the woods.
They were asking:
What kind of creature is a human being supposed to be?
Their answer was that we’re rational and social creatures.
We can think.
We can examine our impulses.
We can cooperate.
We can act with justice, courage, wisdom, and self-control instead of simply obeying whatever feeling happens to appear.
So living according to nature means trying to live according to the best capacities of our human nature.
When anger appears, reason can examine it.
When selfishness appears, justice can challenge it.
When fear appears, courage can answer it.
When temptation appears, self-control can remind us that wanting something doesn’t mean we have to obey the wanting.
That’s Stoicism at its core.
Not becoming less human.
Becoming more fully what a human being is capable of being.
So today, when you’re unsure what to do, ask:
What would be most rational, most just, and most worthy of my nature here?
Then try to live up to the answer.
Stay steady.