A couple weeks ago, a friend going through tough times asked if I’ve ever been really down in life, and how I dealt with it. I responded that in a pragmatic sen

A couple weeks ago, a friend going through tough times asked if I’ve ever been really down in life, and how I dealt with it. I responded that in a pragmatic sense what has helped me most is staying in the present instead of worrying about the past or future too much. (Oddly I once found solace in that exchange from Kung Fu panda where his guru says, “Quit, don’t quit? Noodles, don’t noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be.”) I think Stoicism has an overlap with Buddhism and Existentialism in encouraging this type of grounding oneself in the present. Hence its perseverance and revival. In fact I was going to an appointment yesterday and thinking that I should not worry in the car about what the person I’m meeting is going to ask me. I’ll deal with it when I get there. There’s a Marcus Aurelius quote among those lines: "Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them... having with thee the same reason which now thou usest."