Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? According to the Stoics: They Don't.
Exploring Seneca's timeless wisdom on how to thrive amidst adversity and misfortune.
“Why me?”
I’m sure we’ve all uttered those words at least once within our lives. As human beings, it’s virtually impossible to go through life without witnessing firsthand just how unfair the world can be.
Occasionally, things happen to us, or those around us, that just don't make sense. Someone might be incredibly moral, helpful, kind, forgiving, and overall just a good person, but this still doesn’t shield them from bad or unfortunate things happening to them. The reverse is also true; sometimes ‘bad’, evil, or immoral people seem to be rewarded by life. They might have incredible luck, or they might easily attain wealth, power, and various pleasures. I’m sure we’ve all experienced things that have made us doubt the concept of Karma - things that just don’t make moral or rational sense.
So, how is one supposed to cope with this? How are good people supposed to deal with constantly being dealt a ‘bad hand’ and having to face many instances of adversity?
Enter Seneca.
Seneca was an ancien…