Welcome to The Stoic Ledger, a daily money meditation from one of the Stoic sages.

34/365: Epictetus on hidden burdens

Envy is a dangerous game. 

We can see the externals and yearn for them, ascribe meaning to them, assume they create some sort of good life. But we cannot see the internal burdens. We cannot possibly see what’s hidden from view. 

What’s more, even if we knew of them, we would dilute them and dismiss them, contending that the wealth makes up for it. 

We tell ourselves stories. We craft meaning from what we see in this world. But we never really know what the hidden world looks like, how it feels, how much it weighs. 

The Stoic antidote to this vexing problem is living a life with an utmost contentment of our own situation.