20231021_PracticalStoicism101_pen

Instead of looking at life like, "Circumstances have gifted me this coffee mug/this family/this happiness,
it broke along the way, and I lost it,"
start looking at it this way; "Circumstances have gifted me this piece of art/this home/this freedom. It broke, and hence got returned to circumstances."

I know this may sound like justification for the suffering of countless. But the whole point is to find a meaning to it that goes beyond the superficial and the blame game.
It's only to acknowledge that nobody is in control of our destiny, to empower us in going along the inevitable life paths each of us face, and maybe prepare ourselves for the only undeniable fact of our existence; everything will change, no matter what.

By knowing that the people and the things we possess/adore/love have an expiration date, prepares us to the possibility that we may, one day, lose them.

Only time will tell whether it will make us treasure them even more now.