"Begin at once to live," Seneca.

What is your first impression of this quote? When I first read it, I thought, "This sounds like another New Age feel good admonition." Then I remembered, Seneca was a Roman dramatist who lived from 3 B.C. to A.D. 65. Actually, I did have to look up his exact dates. This realization brought about an interesting chain of thoughts. If he could live fully, it should be easier for us to do it. Why? Consider these facts.

(1) Seneca lived without plumbing, electricity, air conditioning or refrigeration. Could you do that and live fully each day?

(2) Seneca probably walked everywhere; perhaps he rode a horse, or rode in a carriage. There were no cars, buses, trains or airplanes. He could not travel as far or as fast as we can. Still feel you could live fully?

(3) Seneca lived without mass circulation media, no newspapers as we know them. He had no magazines, probably few books, no television, no telephone, no computers, no faxes and no e-mail. I know many people who long for a simpler world and say they want to go back to "the good old days." However, could you go back as far as Seneca's time?

(4) Seneca had a limited diet, little knowledge of the benefits of various types of exercise. Granted, the rigors of daily life would have presented many opportunities not to be sedentary. Since Seneca lived for 68 years, he enjoyed a very long life for his time. How well do you take advantage of the basically unlimited array of healthy foods and the opportunity to exercise according to science?

(5) Seneca lived in a time of poor hygiene and a primitive medical system compared to what we have available today. If he had what we have available, do you think this would have allowed Seneca to live more fully? Does it allow you to?

(6) Seneca did have some of the same challenges we have today. He had politics to contend with. The Emperor Caligula once suggested that Seneca's health would be better outside of Rome. Seneca took the hint and went into exile until Caligula's death.

(7) Seneca did have a sense of purpose. He wrote plays. Several that are still famous and widely read like Agamemnon and Oedipus.

(8) Seneca was an intellectual who sought to discuss and answer the major questions of life. These questions are still common to all of us. Why are we born? Where do we come from? What happens after death?

Seneca urges us to live fully now. Not tomorrow, but immediately. We can have glimpses of how he did it through his writings and biographies. We also know that he had few of what we consider necessities. Aren't many of them luxuries beyond the imagination of the greatest thinkers who lived 20 centuries ago?

How alive are you right now? How involved in the present are you? How focused are you on your goals? How much responsibility do you take for your current situation? How much do you feel others are responsible for? Think seriously about the difference between life in ancient Rome and your life today? Is there anything that you are thankful for? Are there other parts of your life you should be thankful for?