How is real Stoicism related to time and love?
NEEDLEMAN: The basic idea of Stoicism is that we are essentially one with the great self, or Logos of the universe. That s our true nature. We exercise that true nature by the capacity of the mind to relate consciously to its experiences to accept, understand, or receive them without the preferences of liking or disliking those experiences, or responding with fear or craving. Nor does a true stoic try to reinterpret experiences, make them more or less dramatic, or good or bad. The stoic receives all experiences with an inner quiet. This brings about a great inner freedom the freedom of the person who is not devoured by emotional reactions. That doesn t mean he doesn t have these reactions; it means they don t toss him around. It s very wrong to think of a stoic as not caring. In fact the true stoic can act in a truly caring way because he s less at the service of his own egoistic emotions. We tend to think that if we are in love we should be devoured by emotion, or at the very least ag
