“The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy. In anticipation of tomorrow it loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”
- Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
Another great piece of wisdom is presented to us by Roman statesman and prolific author Lucius Annaeus Seneca who -being probably the most frequently read living writer of his age- was not only a very renowned individual of society but also a major adherent of stoicism.
While being one of the richest and most influential men in Rome we know from historic sources that Seneca was not free from personal misfortune, ultimately failing to infuse wisdom into his most important pupil - the erratic and allegedly insane Emperor Nero. In the end he was even forced to commit suicide on Nero's orders due to being implicated for treason and an assassination plot by the increasingly paranoid Emperor.
But let's get back to the topic. One might associate the above quote with the famous "carpe diem" aphorism which is attributed to Roman poet Horaz who preceded Seneca by a half a century and one would not be entirely mistaken. It even contains a very similar appeal to 'seize the day'. But Seneca actually reveals a deeper stoic philosophy in his statement.
In any case the general problem/illusion of postponed joy in life is as current as it gets. Consider a very specific example: Chances are that if you, dear reader, are reading this, then you have at least some kind of mental or material commitment to crypto in general. Whether it is some form of technological pursuit or the pursuit for astronomous financial gains - it is always expectancy. While it is of course wise to have a long term ambition or plan in mind we are in danger of becoming so emotionally invested into the prospects of future that as Seneca points out in anticipation of tomorrow we might be losing today - and ourselves...
The stoic philosophy argues that there is one and only one thing that man truly controls, namely his own mind. Therefore while thinking ahead is essential one should take great care not to arrange what lies in Fortune's control, and abandoning what lies in his or hers. Stoicism teaches that we will always be met by adversity in the form of externals beyond our control, but it is our choice to not let ourselves be affected by it - just as it is our duty in order to achieve a joyful life to devise a state of mind in which we may live immediately instead of postponing everything in the hope of a better future.
Reference for further reading:
- Seneca, On the Shortness of Life