☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Quiet Wisdom Of Animals

Don't build a second story to sorrow.

1. Morning Contemplation

🎧 You can find the audio version of this morning’s contemplation below.

Good morning.

I confess: I love watching animals do nothing.

It’s fortunate, really, because that’s how they spend most of their time. If you’ve ever watched sheep grazing or cows standing in a field, you might understand the quiet peace it brings. But it’s more than just tranquility. I find a Stoic lesson in their simplicity.

Tim Ferriss once joked that Stoicism might evoke the image of a cow standing in the rain—"not sad, not particularly happy, just an impassive creature accepting whatever life throws its way." Though Stoicism is much more than passive endurance, the image still carries some truth.

Take that cow. It doesn’t judge the weather. It doesn’t feel raindrops and complain to the others: “This is terrible. I don’t feel like walking today.” It just walks. It stands. It lies down. It eats. The cow doesn’t control the rain, so it doesn’t concern itself with it. The same goes for sheep. They don’t fret over external conditions, wishing for greener pastures or perfect weather. If they find better grass, they eat it. If not, they graze where they are.

Many misunderstand Stoicism as passive acceptance, as if it means never trying to change our circumstances. In reality, Stoicism teaches effort without attachment to outcomes. A Stoic does not see events as inherently good or bad, only as things that happen. What matters is how we respond.

For Stoics, true good lies in four virtues: Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Temperance. The only true bad is vice—the corruption of these virtues. Everything else is neutral, or “indifferent.” Health, wealth, reputation—these may be preferred, but since they lie outside our full control, they shouldn’t define our happiness.

Animals, in their way, embody this. They don’t assign moral weight to circumstances. A cow may prefer fresh grass, but it doesn’t despair if none is available.

Donald Robertson captures this idea in How to Think Like a Roman Emperor:

According to the Stoics, our initial reaction to pain or illness may be natural and reasonable, but amplifying or perpetuating our suffering by complaining about it over time is unnatural and unreasonable. Animals may cry out in pain and lick their wounds for a while, but they don’t ruminate about it for weeks afterward or write letters to their friends complaining about how badly they’ve been sleeping.

That’s the Stoic lesson I try to learn from animals: Not to “build a second story to sorrow.”

Of course, animal minds are more complex than I’m making out. But when I watch them, I don’t see regret or worry. I see existence, presence. And that, to me, is a Stoic lesson worth learning.

2. Morning Meditation

Sit down in a safe, comfortable spot, close your eyes, and take a few minutes to meditate on this morning's theme.

Adapted from illustrations: Benoît DE HAAS. License: CC-BY-SA

Listen to the short meditation below as I guide you to briefly reflect on the key points from today's contemplation.​​