EPICTETUS, DISERTATIONS, 2.5

• Seneca was a Stoic. He had many material things, yet, as the Stoics say, he was also indifferent to them. He enjoyed them while they were there, but he accepted that they might someday disappear. What better attitude than desperately craving more or fearfully dreading losing even one penny. ...

For us, real things are material things which are made up of matter that we can somehow see, like objects, trees, atoms etc. 

While invisible, immaterial things like gods, demons, heavens and hells are considered simply as beliefs- subjective things that exist only in the realm of the mind....

Being happy with material goods peaks during the formative years, when new experiences make the teenager’s already fragile self-esteem fluctuate. A sense of self-worth and respect makes them less prone to attachment towards materialist objects.

Pre-teen girls identify so m...