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July    30th

STOIC   JOY

“Trust  me, real    joy is  a   serious thing.  Do  you think   someone can,    in  the charming    expression,

blithely    dismiss death   with    an  easy    disposition?    Or  swing   open    the door    to  poverty,    keep

pleasures   in  check,  or  meditate    on  the endurance   of  suffering?  The one who is  comfortable with

turning these   thoughts    over    is  truly   full    of  joy,    but hardly  cheerful.   It’s    exactly such    a   joy that    I

would   wish    for you to  possess,    for it  will    never   run dry once    you’ve  laid    claim   to  its source.”

—SENECA,    MORAL   LETTERS,    23.4

e throw around the word “joy” casually. “I’m overjoyed at the news.” “She’s a joy to be around.”
“It’s a joyous occasion.” But none of those examples really touches on true joy. They are closer to
“cheer” than anything else. Cheerfulness is surface level.
Joy, to Seneca, is a deep state of being. It is what we feel inside us and has little to do with smiles or
laughing. So when people say that the Stoics are dour or depressive, they’re really missing the point. Who
cares if someone is bubbly when times are good? What kind of accomplishment is that?
But can you be fully content with your life, can you bravely face what life has in store from one day to
the next, can you bounce back from every kind of adversity without losing a step, can you be a source of
strength and inspiration to others around you? That’s Stoic joy—the joy that comes from purpose,
excellence, and duty. It’s a serious thing—far more serious than a smile or a chipper voice.