“Show me that the good in life does not depend upon life’s length, but upon the use we make of it; also, that it is possible, or rather usual, for a man who has lived long to have lived too little.” – Seneca the Younger
On The Shortness of Life by Seneca the Younger is (at least, this version)a short letter written roughly two thousand years ago.It’s timeless.
I revisit it at least once a quarter because it focuses me by underscoring how much time we’re given, and yet how easily we misuse or waste it.
You can listen to my favorite portion here, which begins with:
“Why do you torment yourself and lose weight over some problem…”
This is a fantastic reminder to separate the critical few from the trivial many.
You can listen to the entire audio collection of Tao of Seneca here on Audible. If you prefer a text version of the Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master, you can find it for free here.
Enjoy!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another segment from The Tao of Seneca? — Listen to How to Avoid the Busy Trap. In this episode, I dig deeper into useful philosophy and how we think of riches (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: After listening to this letter, how can you make a more productive use of your time? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Show Notes
- On the fleeting nature of the present moment [4:18]
- Lamenting time spent on superfluous actions [7:34]
- ‘Why do you torment yourself and lose weight over some problem…’ [8:28]
- Preparing for war [9:01]
- The space between life and death [11:06]