May 26, 2026

We are connected with our own being before we are connected with anything else.

Hierocles was a Stoic philosopher writing in the second century CE, a period when Roman civic life demanded constant performance and public obligation. His work on ethics centered on the idea of self-awareness as the foundation of all right action — you cannot extend care outward until you know what you are starting from. He described how each person, from birth, has a primary relationship with themselves that precedes every social role. That insight cuts through modern noise just as cleanly: most people fill their mornings with input before they have checked in with themselves at all.