| When Seneca was exiled to Corsica, he was overwhelmed with hopelessness and devastation. We can understand this, as we discussed recently, because it was unfair, and the charges he was convicted of were bogus. It would have been hard. It would have been lonely and sad. It's just interesting that a generation later, a lesser known Stoic, Musonius Rufus (you can read a great translation of his work here) was exiled to a different island. It was equally unfair and hard and lonely. But as we write in our biography of Musonius in Lives of the Stoics, that's what made his next move so remarkable: Musonius set about improving the island he was banished to. He taught things to the locals. He helped discover a natural spring that brought everyone fresh drinking water. It's one thing to just not be overwhelmed by the situation you're in. That's basic Stoicism. What Musonius did was next level—he accepted his fate yet he refused to see it as static. He found a way to improve things, to be of service, to keep himself busy. He made a positive difference. Eventually, someone would do that in Corsica too (as we said, it's now a vacation destination). But it wasn't Seneca. He couldn't see the potential. He was too consumed with his own situation to see what was in front of him. A lot of us do that. But Musonius shows us a better way—a way to make a better world…and make things better for ourselves. | 
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