Zeno lost everything in a shipwreck. A family fortune. His occupation. His entire future, swallowed by the sea.
On at least two occasions, Seneca lost everything he'd worked so hard for. First, illness derailed his legal career, and it took him ten full years—prime years—to recuperate. Then, just as he was getting things back on track, he ran afoul of the emperor and was banished from Rome for nearly as long as he had been infirm.
Zeno and Seneca, like countless other Stoics and people through history, were members of Rudyard Kipling's club—the one where you learn to:
"Watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools."
There was nothing Zeno could have done to prevent that shipwreck. There was nothing Seneca could have done to prevent that illness or that exile. Just as there was nothing you could have done to prevent this or that bad break. But here you are. Facing it. That's life. Stuff happens. Then what?
We can whine about it. We can shift blame. We can become bitter or disillusioned. Or "lose, and start again at your beginnings," Kipling writes, "and never breathe a word about your loss."
Shipwreck. Exile. Failure. Getting fired. A season-ending injury. None of these things are good. They are certainly not things we would choose. But for a Stoic, they can be good if they make you good. It is not unfortunate if one finds a way to make something fortunate from them.
So stoop down. Pick up the worn-out tools. And start building again.
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