Wisdom of Stoicism and Ecclesiastes

Wisdom, Prophets, and Influencers: Week 2

Jan 23, 2025

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Part of the journey of wisdom is realizing the limits and boundaries of what can be controlled. And negatively, wisdom is embracing the things that are out of control. Wisdom is not simply knowing the right things to do but there is a nuance to relaxing into rhythms and pattens of what already is. Philosophies and procedures point us to this fact. And there are books in the Bible that also teach us about the multifaceted face of wisdom.

Thanks to the chaotic pandemic of 2020, the ancient wisdom of stoicism became more popular than ever. This philosophy was thriving around the time of Christ. Seneca, in ancient Rome was a leading proponent of wisdom. And following him, Marcus Aurelius. But today in the chaos of modern events, this wisdom has resurfaced.

“Often people look to Stoicism to get them through periods where there are large societal shifts that they can't control.”

My own kiddos followed a movement in 2019 on You Tube that explored and celebrated the main theme of the stoic movement. “Momento Mori” remember you must die. This online sensation followed Mark Fischbach and Ethan Nestor exploring the limits of living for today. Proclaiming that they must search out everything, for tomorrow they will die, they daily posted a video exploring everything that they could possibly think of. (Parental discretion, please!) And technically, their project did die one year from conception. November 15, 2019 to November 14, 2020. Their end was proclaimed: Unus annus. One Year. And the all of their exploration, content, their remembrance online, would be deleted. And it was.

Sure enough, my daughters laughed and cried along with their every clumsy attempt at “living for today.” And in the process they anticipated the death and deletion of this entertaining YouTube channel. While enjoying every day of it.

Yet the slice of wisdom is this, time is short. Experience is limited. Enjoy your time, and let go of the fact that you can’t control everything. This throwback to Stoicism has found its way into our contemporary wisdom of embracing the uncontrolled and enjoying life in the process.

Embracing everything, searching out every end of what is wise or good. What do you find in the everyday experience? There is just as much good as bad and it doesn’t ultimately matter which side you fall upon. Historical Stoicism experienced a decline after Christianity became the state religion in the 4th century. Since then, it has seen revivals, notably in the Renaissance (Neostoicism) and in the contemporary era (modern Stoicism).

What are the benefits of this approach to life? Exploration and acceptance? What do we learn? How is it valuable?

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