Philosophy, Stoicism And Seneca



Recently I’ve been reading a couple of Stoism books by Seneca, and it absolute spoke to me.
stoism seneca suffering perceived more than real
Seneca’s words, were so brief, yet concise, and rich in depth and meaning.

I give you an example:

On the Shortness of Life
translated by John W. Basore
Chapter 1, page “I”

The majority of mortals, Paulinus,1 complain bitterly of the spitefulness of Nature, because we are born for a brief span of life, because even this space that has been granted to us rushes by so speedily and so swiftly that all save a very few find life at an end just when they are getting ready to live.

Nor is it merely the common herd and the unthinking crowd that bemoan what is, as men deem it, an universal ill; the same feeling has called forth complaint also from men who were famous.

It was this that made the greatest of physicians exclaim that “life is short, art is long;”2 it was this that led Aristotle,3 while expostulating with Nature, to enter an indictment most unbecoming to a wise man—that, in point of age, she has shown such favour to animals that they drag out five or ten lifetimes,4 but that a much shorter limit is fixed for man, though he is born for so many and such great achievements.

It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested.

But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. So it is—the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.

Just as great and princely wealth is scattered in a moment when it comes into the hands of a bad owner, while wealth however limited, if it is entrusted to a good guardian, increases by use, so our life is amply long for him who orders it properly.

That is taken from I, Chapter I, from “On The Shortness Of Life.”

I really like it, and it resonates deeply in and with me.

BECAUSE LIFE IS SO SHORT…

We need to focus on things that are truly important.

Like freedom. Passive income. Early retirement. All the stuff that I think about.

We can’t just live from day to day, hand to mouth, unless we are in a very bad situation financially, or born in hard times/places.

And that is why I write at NigelChua.com.

That is why I work, seek better solutions, refine to improve passive income.

Basically to free myself from the never-ending barrage of demands of consumerism, money etc.

It never ends.

  • I don’t want to wake up one day, old, and wonder what had I not done well in my life.
  • I dont want to regret losing decades of my life doing stuff that weren’t meaningful to me, just to please others. The only person I want to truly please, if my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The next is to love my family, friends and relationship.

Friends, families and readers – life is so short.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that “we always have tomorrow” – yes, in most cases, yes and yes.

However, the truth of the matter is this: life is truly short and fragile.

Take the example of my late father, Daniel. Months before his retirement, he passed away. He lived a life of deferred living – basically, he wanted to enjoy life WHEN he retired. Sadly, he retired from life permanently when he was 59.

It was a devastating blow to me, my psyche, my everything.

Almost everything I believed crumbled.

Because of the lie I told myself:

I shall work hard now and when the business is good, I shall spend time with my loved ones.

Oh, what a fool I was.

Yes I still believe in working hard – it is our best friends as humans to work hard and improve our returns, skills and experience, but please, consider this.

Work in things that are meaningful for you.

Spend time with loved ones.

Time that is gone, is gone forever. We can only make new memories and new decisions, but we cannot turn back the clock.

Which is why I wrote the most important article which is really for me, but is also applicable for you. Whatever you want to do, quickly, do it now.

This is the reason why I prefer now to do things that are truly meaningful to me, like family. Like you, my readers.

SENECA’S WRITINGS REALLY IMPACTED ME

I want to publish his works and books to share it with the world, because it speaks so much to me, and changed and helped solidify my thoughts and values.

I am still thinking how to do it, but will you support me if I decide to publish them as digital or physical books?

I’m thinking if I can publish them here on NigelChua.com or do I need to have a separate website etc, as I want to publish them on Amazon.

Let me know your thoughts.

Talk soon!

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Hang around here for some time, you’d see that I don’t well with hype or bullshit. I can smell that typically a mile away, and I hate that shit too.

I’ve been working on myself and on NigelChua.com for years, since 2006, and only in late 2019, I started to focus on intuitive and loving leadership, entreprenership and personal development.

Here are some areas that I work on a consistent, ongoing basis.

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The core topics I cover in NigelChua.com is:

  1. Eternal life and salvation: Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth & the Life
  2. Fix your health: get healthier, live longer, run faster, more energy, fuck more
  3. Passive Income Lifestyle: Become financially secure by building assets that provides multiple streams of passive income that’s more than your living expenses
  4. Personal Loving Relationships: Attract, build and grow relationships you love
  5. Philanthropy: giving to the poor and needy
  6. Philosophy: Conscious, purposeful and positive living
  7. Productivity: How to become more efficient and productive in important things. Mastering them causes you take less them whilst increasing productivity.
  8. Insure yourself and your loved ones (Health insurance is important)
  9. Add-on Adventures: Become rich and wealthy
  10. Add-on Adventures: Build businesses that add positive value to your society and life
  11. Success Principles

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