"Whatever can happen at any time can happen today." -Seneca.

The past week, I experienced a day where I felt powerful and accomplished. I also experienced another day full of weakness, sickness, and turmoil. Both of these days served as examples to me of what authentic living feels like.

On the day I felt strong, I was surging with energy and purpose. 

My team and I were helping another business prepare for a significant event they had coming up. Although I led my team and gave direction, we all worked together to accomplish the goals. There was a lot of planning and physical work, but it was fun.

The work was exhausting but invigorating.

A few days later, I felt my weakest. That's today.

I've been sick the past few days, but today is the height of this sickness. My mind is strong despite headaches, body aches, congestion, and loss of taste. I yearn to feel well again. In fact, I take wellness for granted when I'm feeling good. 

I only genuinely appreciate wellness once I get sick. How about you?

Despite these feelings, I know I'll heal and feel well again; and I know I'm not alone.

I believe that each day is a new opportunity to make a difference. How we make that impact is up to us. However, it begins with an understanding that we must believe something different is possible despite whatever we're going through. Even if we can't control the circumstances. So, what does that mean?

Nobody can predict how the day will play out except those who plan their day and focus their intentions and actions on that plan. 

The results may not always be what we want, but we control our actions and thoughts.

Have you heard that saying about hope being a positive thought with wings? It's not. Hope is simply believing in what "can be" and working toward that.

Some of you may have read Seneca's quote and interpreted it how I did when I first came across it. 

A few years ago (or more), I was preparing for the worst that could happen. I was stuck in negative loops of "what if." I wanted to make sure my family was ready for anything that could happen. Looking back, I was preparing for "anything" bad but nothing good.

Now, I believe we must prepare ourselves for the bad and good times.

Balance our thoughts and prepare with the understanding that anything can happen externally. 

In good, strong times, weaker times may be approaching. In times of sickness or weakness, more robust times are ahead. That's the true nature of life. The ebbs and flows of energy, strength, and power are natural cycles around us and within us.

What we always have control of, though, is our mind. Our thoughts can be trained and strengthened to overcome any obstacle. 

As I continue to medicate and heal, I'm reminded that a bit of hope, as defined above, is all I need. Better times are ahead.

If you're feeling down, weakened, or sad, you're not alone.

Remember that life will always counterbalance. All you need is hope. Believe in what "can be" and work toward it.

That belief is an understanding that the possibilities in life are limitless, which means— so are you. 

You will rebound and grow stronger. 

Start with strengthening your mind. Resist the urge to wallow in negative thoughts. It's natural and normal to think negative things, so don't judge yourself. Acknowledge the thought, and think of what could be.

What action can you take today to move you toward what could be? Do that.

You are powerful and strong enough to take one tiny action toward what "can be" for you. 

You are the co-creator of your destiny. You can work towards better, stronger times for yourself. After all…

"Whatever can happen at any time can happen today." -Seneca.

Your Journal Prompts for this week:

1. What are two examples where I have felt powerful and accomplished? What was I doing? How can I do more of this?

2. What do I believe "can be" for me? What tiny action can I take today to move me toward that?

3. How am I preparing myself mentally to overcome challenges and obstacles?

Minimalist Weekly Challenge:

• Clean out your medicine cabinet. Get rid of expired and old medicines, liquids, and ointments. 

• Organize the remaining medication and creams in your own way. You can do this alphabetically or by symptom alleviation.

Estimated time to complete: 10-40 minutes.

(Benefits: include being prepared for future sickness, knowing what you have on hand, and eliminating unnecessary or old medications. Remember to dispose of expired prescription medication at a designated medication collection site if one exists where you live.)

With Vitality + Purpose + Love,

Kourt @ The Minimalist Stoic

"Whatever can happen at any time can happen today." -Seneca.

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters." -Seneca

This past week brought a tragedy to my family's minds.

A sixteen-year-old friend of my oldest son passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday. The boys were soccer teammates for a few years, and our families were friends in the way you get to know each other for traveling tournaments and weekly matches. Although their team split up nearly two years ago to go to other teams, they were all still friends. 

My son had trouble sleeping that first night, as did I.

My son, Gabe, was devastated and couldn't fall asleep. He was up most of the night. I kept dreaming lucid dreams about past tragedies that never happened to me or my family. They felt real. I would wake up to the reality that all was the same. Each one of us was safe. I would give thanks, offer love to our friend's family, and then fall asleep to another vivid scenario.

We got word the following morning that the family and friends were organizing a candlelight vigil that night at the soccer park they used to practice at.

This was two days before Thanksgiving, and this family was forced to mourn their oldest child. Although we could only imagine the gravity of what they were going through, we could feel the pain of finality and grief. My son needed to attend to share this experience with friends and hug Mateo's family. 

We thought it would be a small gathering of family and soccer families.

When we arrived at 7 pm, we saw a crowd of nearly a hundred people. There was family, soccer families, friends, school friends, teachers, and old coaches. We lit our candles with each other's fire, and the crowd glowed in the darkness. Everyone was quiet, solemn, and still.

There was electricity in the cool air.

A love you could feel was traveling all of the spaces between each person, weaving its way around the crowd until everyone felt enveloped in it. Mateo touched so many lives in his sixteen years. His parents each addressed the crowd with so much love and pain that we could all feel it. Tears sprang from the group in consolation and remembrance. 

One by one, people moved to the front of the crowd and shared stories and memories of Mateo.

Each story and memory was a tribute to his life and spirit. They illustrated how well he lived, how much he loved, and how he didn't care what people thought. Mateo was uniquely himself, regardless of the consequences or judgment from others. He modeled what extreme love, humor, and joy in life looked like. We were honored to be a part of these private moments that people shared. 

Family and friends came from all over to celebrate Mateo's impact on their lives.

The soccer families stayed behind after most of the crowd took their memories and wandered back into their own personal worlds and lives. The boys needed more time to share the love, friendship, and bonds they created with each other and Mateo. They laughed, consoled each other, and told more stories in their group. The themes of the stories they shared were similar to the ones the larger vigil had expressed.

Live as Mateo lived.

To honor Mateo, honor your true self. Be yourself regardless of what others think. Do what feels right to you. Have fun and inject humor into life whenever possible. Show up as your authentic self to truly connect with others. Be there when people need you and encourage them to live well. 

Life is like a story. It's not how long you live; it's how well you live. 

Mateo reminds us of that. 

This week's newsletter is dedicated in honor of Mateo and his family.

Your Journal Prompts for this week:

1. At the end of my life, how do I want to be remembered by my loved ones?

2. How can I start living an authentic and impactful life now?

Minimalist Weekly Challenge:

• Organize your books and journals in order of most impactful to least impactful to the life you want to live. 

• Challenge yourself to eliminate and donate the least impactful or least significant to others. (or resell on an online marketplace.)

Estimated time to complete: 1 hour

(Benefits: This may help provide you focus on what matters most to you and what will help you impact others.)

Here's a link to your free, Printable 1-page Journal prompt and Challenge Sheet.

With Vitality + Purpose + Love,

Kourt @ The Minimalist Stoic

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters." -Seneca

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." Epictetus

To grieve is to feel intense sorrow or anguish and distress.

When we want something so intensely that it distresses us, we feel the loss for something we never had. Yet, we are conditioned to desire, and it's painful when we don't understand the root of it.

We live in a society that values status. Everywhere we look, status is expressed in different ways.

Sometimes its expressed as physical possessions- whether it be cars, clothes, homes, or collections of something of value. These possessions are physical manifestations of the person's expression of status.

Status is often expressed as "power over."

This would be a leader in a company, a firm, a religious organization, or a government. Power itself isn't status. Power can be good when utilized for good. "Power over" is associated with the desire to achieve power for personal gain. It's wanting or desiring a position of status that can create benefits without regard to others.

Status is beginning to embody the idea of "freedom."

People desire "freedom from" responsibility. Freedom from working hard. Freedom from having bills. Freedom from having a boss. Freedom from having to clean or do tasks that take away their time. This is evidenced in advertisements for convenient new ways to get things done, outsource, or get rich quickly from online gurus.

But if you strip down your goals to their essential function, what is there? What do you genuinely want to achieve and why?

Status is the drug that addicts us to pursuing wealth, possessions, and influence without understanding our deepest needs or desires. It's acquiring things and power as a means to status rather than a means to evolve.

Does your goal achievement result in more money? More power? More Influence?

These things aren't bad or wrong, but ask yourself why you need or want them.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs shows us that evolving is natural and normal.

Once our basic survival needs are met- such as food, shelter, and safety, it gives us the freedom to want more and be more. Do you currently have food, shelter, and security?

A need for love and belonging comes after basic survival and safety.

We desire and need to receive and give love, affection, trust, and acceptance. Do you have love relationships- family, friends, or even work?

The human goal directly after is the need for a sense of esteem.

This is respect for others and self-respect. It's a sense of competence and accomplishment. In what ways do you feel accomplished? What are your skills?

Knowledge and understanding help us grow from there.

We get curious and need to explore. We want to find meaning or create it. How do you currently explore? What purpose can you find in your life right now?

When our needs are met up to this point (physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem, and cognitive), we desire beauty.

We look for beauty in both art and nature. We appreciate symmetry, balance, form, color, and music. What is beautiful in your life? What beauty do you seek, recognize, and value?

The final goal may always be an elusive one. This is self-actualization.

Self-actualization means becoming everything we are capable of being. As we evolve through life and our minds expand, so does our potential. Our capabilities and capacity for actualization grow. Do you know what you're capable of?

If you perceive a limit to who you can become or feel you've reached that limit to what you can accomplish, take a step back and examine which of your other needs aren't being met.

Do not feel sorrow or anguish for what you don't have or are not yet achieving.

Instead, during this week of Thanksgiving, examine the journal questions provided and explore what you do have. Rejoice, or celebrate and give thanks for what you have and all that you've accomplished.

Your Journal Prompts for this week:

1. What food, shelter, and safety do I have that allows me to focus on other goals? What relationships provide me love, acceptance, and trust? How do I express this back to them?

2. What purpose can I find in my life as it is now? What beauty exists around me?

3. Who am I capable of being? If I fast-forwarded my life 10 years and I've accomplished everything I want in life that I want, who is it that I am being? What are my values? What are my contributions to the world?

(Make a list of all of the answers in your journal to remind yourself to be grateful and rejoice in these things.)

Minimalist Weekly Challenge:

• Clean out your closet this week. Remove clothes, shoes, etc., that you never wear. Separate items that are gently worn but are still helpful.

• Donate them to a charity that gives them freely to low-income or homeless people (not to a charity that resells them). Better yet, donate directly to a shelter.

Time to complete: 45 minutes to clean; 45 minutes to donate.

Your slightly used clothes and shoes may provide the warmth or safety another person needs for basic survival. Then, you'll have one more thing to be grateful for as you become your best self.

Here's a link to your free, Printable 1-page Journal prompt and Challenge Sheet.

With Vitality + Purpose + Love,

Kourt @ The Minimalist Stoic

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." Epictetus

"They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn." -Seneca

When we go through our day begrudging the routine, we're not serving our higher purpose. We lose the meaning and vitality of a life we're capable of!

Living in expectation of the night will mean something different to each person. Your interpretation may include looking forward to a drink, hanging out with friends, or binge-watching a TV show. Your expectation is to relax and disconnect, to create space.

Meanwhile, in the day, you're working at something causing you stress or pain, and you desire to numb yourself. If not currently, then at some point, you've felt this.

We disguise our vices in words like "relaxation" and "self-care." But they aren't always so. It takes a wise person to recognize their escapes for what they are.

In the night, after you've indulged in your relaxation routines, you "fear the dawn." You dread waking up to face the day and start all over again. Is it following someone else's rules and expectations? Have you lost your joy?

Regardless, you repeat the cycle.

Seneca tells us that we lose our day when we live this way.

What does that mean to "lose your day"?

Our day is our present moment. It's all we truly have. When we spend our moments thinking, planning, and living in the future, we lose opportunities given to us now.

Instead of dread and mindless action, learn to get present and pay attention. Be the watcher of your thoughts. Catch the moments when you're drifting off. You could be losing an opportunity to positively impact the people around you.

What do you value? What are your top virtues?

If you aren't sure, you can start there. Explore the answers to those questions. If you are present and conscious of how you show up when you interact, you're given the gift of connection with others.

You have so much to offer and teach and to learn from others. If you get lost in the routines, the paperwork, & simple actions as your thoughts drift into expectation, you lose your day. You lose the opportunity.

Be present to feel deeply, connect authentically, and practice your purpose (your virtues).

Your Journal Prompts for this week:

1. How do I "lose my day in expectation of night"? Do these things feed my virtues or my vices?

2. In what ways do I fear dawn? What does this fear tell me about my life and my choices?

3. What is one way I can practice being present in my day / my moments? What can I expect to feel, do, and accomplish?

Minimalist Weekly Challenge:

• Clean out old spices, expired cans, packaged foods, and any old leftovers in your refrigerator.

Time to complete: Less than 30 minutes.

It's okay to eliminate old, expired foods. This action will help you feel both productive and healthier. You're making room for good nutrition and better choices.

Here's a link to your free, Printable 1-page Journal prompt and Challenge Sheet.

With Vitality + Purpose + Love,

Kourt @ The Minimalist Stoic

"They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn." -Seneca

We do good by doing right. We believe in living with vitality, working with purpose, and interacting with love. Simple, yet not easy. 

The ancient Stoics believed that our emotional well-being shouldn't be tied to things beyond our control, including physical objects or external desires.

The Minimalist Stoic is a modern model of a spotless mind, environment, and clear vision.

Our core beliefs align with the ancient Stoics, and we have a healthy respect for minimalism without deprivation. We challenge our thought patterns and change our minds to evolve. We organize and clean our environments for clearer thinking.

We choose to do the right thing, even if it's not desirable.

The right thing is usually different from the mainstream way. We believe that by choosing to do the right thing in the right way, we're pursuing the ultimate "good." Whatever you deem that to be. We are not religious, nor are we anti-religion. We are free thinkers.

Our ultimate goal is to live with vitality, work with purpose, and expand with love.

Our community is dedicated to people who desire to live in this way and are curious to know more. We will drop into your inbox once a week to share thoughts and tips on the Minimalist Stoic's way of life. We're open to discussion and communication. 

Currently, there are no paywalls on content. 

Eventually, there will be a paywall on bonus areas, but the core newsletter will always be free. We believe that thoughts and practice shouldn't cost anything. Are you curious? 

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