Letter to a Stoic

Dear Cicero,

I have some problems with you.

I am sorry that you were thrown from the crumbling Roman government. I am sorry that your daughter died.

However, I am not sorry for the things I am about to say to you.

To be fair, I don’t disagree with everything you say. For example, I love the way you said, “anyone who fears pain or death must inevitably be unhappy, because pain is a frequent occurrence, and death always hovers not fair off.” The fear of pain or death prostrates us. This fear is useless, considering that pain and death are both unavoidable. I agree with you on this. However, I disagree with the way you approach this finiteness of life.

“A man who has the ability to commune with himself does not feel the slightest need for anyone else’s conversation,” you say. I have been staring at this sentence for the past twenty minutes, attempting charitability, searching for validity in it.

I have found none.

People are drawn to other people. I can talk to myself about philosophy, human nature, etc., all that I want to, and it won’t be fulfilling until I can converse with someone else about it. This is not due to extroverted tendencies (which I do not have), or a deficiency in character. This is because I am human. Something beautiful lives in our desire for community and companionship.

Cicero, avoiding relationships because they will only eventually bring fear and pain is as pointless as fearing death. Even if the other person doesn’t hurt you, you will eventually lose them. And it will hurt. My God, it will hurt.

That doesn’t mean loving them wasn’t worth it.

What’s the point in loving people if it will only bring pain, you ask? Ah, but pain is a frequent occurrence. What’s the point in not loving people?

Love recklessly, even if it only brings you happiness for a little while. Losing someone hurts, yes, but it will not destroy a soul that is filled to the brim with happiness. Only a life without love can do that.

Warmly,

A frustrated college student, filled to the brim with fierce love for others.