Where There Is Life, There Is Danger
Ralph Waldo Emerson articulated what we hesitate to acknowledge, but can't deny when presented: “As soon as there is life, there is danger.” We needn't look further than the miracle that is childbirth to see the truth in this. Life itself then becomes a matter of sustaining life.
The very genesis of Stoicism started with danger, seeing a recently-shipwrecked Zeno make his way back to Athens where he visited a bookstore that would lead him to a Socrates book on virtues. This paired with interactions with Cynic philosophers led to the eventual formation of Stoicism. When danger is unavoidable, we're to embrace what may lay on the other side of it.
We should resist any temptation to dismiss an origin story so classically rooted in catastrophe, and avail ourselves to the demonstration of Stoicism displayed by it. Zeno's decision to respond to catastrophe by immediately pursuing wisdom is behavior worth modeling, that of actively turning challenges into opportunities for increased understanding.
Life is risk and chaos. It is beautiful, dangerous, and not for the faint of heart. Thriving belongs to those who consciously decide how to most usefully respond to the hands dealt.
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