“Of all the things that are, some are good, others bad, and yet others indifferent. The good are virtues and all that share in them; the bad are the vices and all that indulge them; the indifferent lie in between virtue and vice and include wealth, health, life, death, pleasure, and pain.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.19.12b–13
This passage discusses the power of living with indifference and how it can lead to a more relaxed life. It explains how Seneca, a wealthy and famous Stoic, was indifferent to his material possessions and enjoyed them while they were present but accepted that they could disappear. It suggests that if people were to practice indifference in their life and relationships, it would lead to improved relationships at work, in love, and with friends. It also suggests that being indifferent to outcomes is not easy but would lead to a more relaxed life.
I’d have to reread Epictetus again, but I thought that anything not a Virture or Vice is an indiferent(noun). It is neither good nor bad when viewed with how they might affect our virtue. It’s not so much that they were indifferent to riches or to family, but rather they saw the loss of either as indifferent to their virtue. I am not sure that translates to practicing indifference. The death of a loved one is not good or bad in the stoics estimation (virtue is the only good, ignorance the only evil) but it would be natural to be sad. It is however quite natural, we are mortal creatures. Realising that the loss of these things is likely to happen especially the loss of life, means that we focus on what is important. Being with those people while they live.