years ago i met a Stoic at a party and i asked him what it was
he told me but it didn’t stick
he seemed calm, though
today i met a Stoic in a book, and i read what it was and
it stuck just fine
‘cause it feels like sense
rugged antique word left me cold before
soft sweet meaning warms me up now
all in good time, i suppose
i am the boss of me
and the witness of me
i am a timelapse of a rose
i am unfolding
i can stoic
i pick and choose my favorite bits
be here now,
conquer self
be calm
savor time
don’t complain or explain
do what matters
respond not react
you know about Viktor Frankl, yes?
the psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz
Between stimulus and response, there is a space, he says. In that space is our power, he says, to choose our response, he says
years ago when i met that Stoic at a party and i asked him what it was
he told me but it didn’t stick
maybe i wasn’t ready for stillness
or maybe i only asked because i liked his face
or maybe i just needed some words to help pass the time
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frank
but can i be a stoic?