"What progress have I made? I am beginning to be my own friend.’ That is progress indeed. Such a people will never be alone and you may be sure he is a friend to all."
"Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well ordered mind than a man’s ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company."
Seneca said this.
I've been thinking about it today because I read it in one of his letters last night. I think that as you consider your own thoughts from the outside, which is a Stoic skill, you maybe begin to see what Seneca meant.
My brain might think "She doesn't like me." Well, brain, not everyone is going to like you. Did you do anything you ought to regret in her presence? "No, I don't think so." Then it's on her to tell you if something is bothering her, and then it's on you to decide if that's valid. People have hangups, brain. Maybe you remind her of someone who hurt her, or maybe she's unhappy with the world and doesn't like most people... not your problem, though. "Gee, thanks, Stoic self." No problem. That's what I'm here for.
I actually have conversations like that with myself. I didn't used to. Must be Stoic. Or schizophrenic...
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Image, modified by an original by Calidius, is public domain
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