How to Find Peace in Impermanence: Seneca, Epicurus & Lao Tzu on Presence and What Really Matters

personal995
Apr 27
5 min read

You will lose everything.

Everyone you love…

Everything you own…

Every moment you’ve ever lived…

It will all vanish.

That’s not pessimism. That’s physics. That’s the deal.

But there’s something hidden inside that truth.

Something most people never see or run from their whole lives.

A kind of freedom. A kind of beauty. A kind of permission to really live.

In a world obsessed with accumulation of things, time, followers, money, memories, we often forget the quiet truth whispered beneath it all - nothing lasts. And that’s not a reason to despair. It’s the reason to begin to really live.

Throughout history, the wisest voices didn’t deny impermanence, they leaned into it. By accepting the nature of change and loss, they uncovered a deeper freedom, to live more presently, to love more deeply, how to find peace and to act with courage and clarity.

By drawing on the timeless insights of Seneca’s call to live while we can, Epicurus’s reminder to appreciate what is, and Lao Tzu’s embrace of change as life’s essence, we can reframe our relationship to change and loss, not as tragedy, but as invitation to presence.

What’s in this article?

Introducing Seneca, Epicurus, and Lao Tzu
Seneca: Live Before It’s Too Late
Epicurus: Appreciate What You Already Have
Lao Tzu: Accept Change as the Nature of Life
3 Actionable Practices for Living with Impermanence
To Summarise: How To Find Peace
Member’s Related Links & Readings

Introducing Seneca, Epicurus, and Lao Tzu

Seneca, a Roman Stoic philosopher, wrote powerfully on mortality and the art of living urgently. To him, death wasn’t a surprise, it was the ever-present backdrop to life, sharpening its meaning.

Epicurus, a Greek philosopher, often misunderstood as a hedonist, taught that simple pleasures, gratitude, and presence are the keys to a fulfilled life, precisely because everything is fleeting.

Lao Tzu, the ancient sage behind the Tao Te Ching, reminded us that everything flows, everything fades, and that trying to hold on too tightly is the source of suffering.

Seneca: Live Before It’s Too Late

Seneca’s Wisdom on Loss

Picture Seneca writing by lamplight, steady and deliberate: “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.”

Seneca believed most people don’t really begin to live until they realize they’re dying. This wasn’t meant to depress, it was meant to wake us up.

He taught that facing impermanence is the key to presence. When we accept life’s brevity, we stop delaying what matters. We stop numbing ourselves with distractions. We see what’s right in front of us with clarity and reverence.

In daily life, this means resisting the urge to fill every moment with busyness. It means prioritizing time with people you love, creating more than consuming, and being honest with yourself about what really matters. Before you run out of time to change it.

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” Seneca

Epicurus: Appreciate What You Already Have

Epicurus’s Wisdom on Desire

Picture Epicurus walking through his garden, speaking gently: “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Epicurus taught that most suffering comes not from what we lack, but from our restless hunger for more. He believed happiness isn’t found in chasing endless desires, it’s found in savoring what we already have.

When we recognize that life’s gifts are temporary, we treasure them more deeply. We stop clinging. We stop rushing past the simple pleasures that quietly sustain us.

In daily life, this means letting go of the endless race for upgrades, status, and more possessions. It means noticing a morning coffee, a warm conversation, the sound of rain, and feeling a real, grounded gratitude for them.

“He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing.” Epicurus

Lao Tzu: Accept Change as the Nature of Life

Lao Tzu’s Wisdom on Impermanence

Picture Lao Tzu sitting by a river, speaking quietly: “By letting it go, it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.”

Lao Tzu taught that peace comes not from control, but from acceptance. Just as water moves around rocks without losing its nature, we too are meant to flow with change, not fight against it.

Suffering begins when we cling to what must inevitably pass, possessions, moments, even identities. Freedom begins when we trust the natural unfolding of life.

In daily life, this means softening your grip when things shift unexpectedly. It means meeting endings, losses, and changes not with fear, but with openness. It means living like a river, steady, flexible, and free.

In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true. In ruling, be just. In daily life, be competent. In action, be aware of the time and the season. Lao Tzu

3 Actionable Practices for Living with Impermanence

Practice 1: Say the Silent Goodbye (Seneca)

Once a day, pick one ordinary thing your coffee cup, the breeze, a loved one’s voic and silently say, “This might be the last time.” Let that deepen your appreciation, not your fear.

Practice 2: Make an Enough List (Epicurus)

Write down three things you already have that you once deeply wished for. Keep this list visible. Let it ground you in sufficiency, not scarcity.

Practice 3: Release One Thing (Lao Tzu)

Each week, let go of something: an old object, a stale grudge, a fixed plan.

Practice flowing with life, not freezing it.

To Summarise: How to Find Peace

By embracing the inevitability of change and loss through the wisdom of Seneca, Epicurus, and Lao Tzu, you step into a fuller, freer life - showing you how to find peace. One not built on clinging or pretending, but on presence, gratitude, and flow.

You will lose everything. But that’s not the end.

That’s the beginning.