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In this meditation, we explore one of Senecaās most profound teachings on wealth, desire, and freedom:
āYou ask what is the proper limit to a personās wealth? First, having what is essential; second, having what is enough. If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor. If you shape it according to opinion, you will never be rich.āSeneca reminds us that poverty is not measured by what we lack, but by what we crave. True wealth, he says, is found not in accumulation, but in sufficiency ā in the quiet realization that we already have what is needed to live well.
Drawing on both Stoic and Epicurean wisdom, this reflection explores how simplicity leads to serenity, and how reducing our desires brings more peace than satisfying them ever could. As Epicurus wrote, āIf you wish to make someone rich, do not add to his money, but subtract from his desires.ā
Expect to learn:
The Stoics and Epicureans both understood this truth: wealth is not the possession of many things, but the mastery of desire. When we stop measuring life by whatās missing, we discover that the cup is already full.
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