I Am Stoic
Any good attribute pertaining to the self can be attained through self-discipline, but the ability to stay calm in all situations is one of the most effective tools you can ever wield. This is especially true when dealing with other people. Most are like water. They churn and move with no control over their direction, foreign and outside forces determine where they go. Like the very particles themselves, they depend upon eachother for their motion. To be calm is to be like a stone. Hardened over time, with patience and long suffering, starting with a single mindedness to be unaffected. What attempts to inflict is absorbed or deflected. It is disarming. The water smashes and laps with fury but recedes with the tide failing to break the natural fortress. Only in time, as the natural order permits, will the rock wither and become one with the earth. In the end, all things in life are a battle of wills. Sharpen your mind and stoke the fire in your heart. Look into all things rationally, discerning as if constantly solving a puzzle. When the avenue is found, move forward with virtue and poise. Showing to all the compassion that was stored deep inside since the beginning. This is the essence of stoicism.