When journalist and Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce advised a young writer that studying the Stoics would teach him “how to be a worthy guest at the table of the gods,” or then the painter Eugène. One of the analogies the Stoics preferred to describe their philosophy was that of a fertile field. Our modern world may seem radically different from the painted verandah (Stoa Poikilê) of the Athenian Agora and the Forum and Court of Rome.
The works of the Stoics have always been fresh and current, despite the historical ebb and flow of their popularity. Instead, we tried to organize and present the great collective wisdom of the Stoics as digestible. One can and should take the original works of the Stoics in their entirety (see Suggestions for Further Reading at the end of this book).
JANUARY
CLARITY
It is not activity that disturbs people, but false notions of things that drive them mad.”. Having a goal in mind is no guarantee that you will reach it—no Stoic would condone that assumption—but not having a goal in mind is a guarantee that you will not. A little, but it is balanced when we see that we can control our opinion about these events.
The good news is that it is quite easy to remember what is within our control. Rather, it's that we can be confident that we're generally headed in the right direction—that we don't need to constantly compare ourselves to other people or change our minds every three seconds based on new information. It is for this reason that Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is a somewhat inscrutable book - it was for personal clarity and not for public benefit.
FEBRUARY
PASSIONS AND EMOTIONS
Today you are unlikely to have to deal with a horde of probing reporters bombarding you with insensitive questions. Our reasoned choice – our prohairesis, as the Stoics called it – is a kind of invincibility that we can cultivate. That at the end of the meal it is rude not to help the host clean up and do the dishes (selflessness).
It's harder to stop, to pause, to think, no, I'm not sure I should do that anymore. When a billionaire loses $1 million due to market fluctuations, it's not the same as you or I losing a million dollars. He knew, like the former Emperor of Rome, that it is easy to fight back.
MARCH
AWARENESS
Don't fear self-evaluation because you're worried you might have to admit some things about yourself. He says it's just as damaging to "value yourself at less than your true worth." Isn't it just as common to be surprised at how well we are able to handle a previously feared scenario. The way we are able to put aside grief for a loved one and care for others - even though we always thought we would be devastated if something happened to ours.
The way we are able to take advantage of a stressful situation or a life-changing opportunity. Look within yourself to find out what you are capable of and what it will take to unlock that potential. If we're not careful, all these forces—the push and pull—will eventually tear us apart.
The countless charities, events and gatherings that we are too busy to attend, but join in anyway. We go to work and before you know it, we're surfing the Internet. We sit peacefully in a park, but instead of looking in, we judge people as they pass by.
Instead, look at what they are forced to trade in return - look at what success has cost them. We also forget that we are not the only people who matter and that our loss might be someone else's gain. They are flawed - they are distracted and impressed by all sorts of stupid things themselves.
It also happens that these are the cases that we are likely to regret.
APRIL
UNBIASED THOUGHT
How much harder it is to focus on your own problems when you're distracted by other people's drama and conflicts. Life is short - the fruit of this life is good character and acting for the common good." This exercise recalls a joke by the eighteenth-century writer and witticist Nicolas Chamfort, who noted that if you "swallow a toad every morning ", you'll be fortified against anything else nasty that might happen the rest of the day.
Marcus's quote: "No one can impute me to ugly - nor can I be angry with my relative or hate him." The point of this preparation is not to write everyone off in advance. It is that, perhaps, because you have prepared for it, you will be able to act with patience, forgiveness and understanding. For, as Epictetus reminds us, "the first and greatest task of the philosopher is to test and separate appearances, and to act on nothing untested."
A spiritual guru will say that it is important to "let your body guide you." A friend trying to help us with a difficult decision might ask, "What does it feel like right here?". But this approach will only be effective if you are humble and ready to let go of the opinions you already have. Choose the correct inference from a person's actions or from external events and you are much more likely to get the correct answer.
Think about all the opinions you have: whether today's weather is appropriate, what liberals and conservatives believe, whether so-and-so's comment is rude or not, whether you are successful (or not) and on and on. . Obviously, given that we're inside our bodies every day, it's tempting to think that's the most important thing in the world. The more you question these scripts and the more you subject them to the rigorous test of your education, the more you will be your own compass.
You will have your own beliefs and thoughts that do not belong to anyone else.
RIGHT ACTION
You are sure to miss the target if you don't bother to pull back and shoot. It is the same reason why as a child you may have confessed a lie to completely unsuspecting parents. This is why one partner may voluntarily admit to a crushing infidelity - even if the other partner had no idea.
Why are you telling me that?!" they betray as she walks out the door. The Bible says that when you can do something nice and caring to a hateful enemy, it's like "throwing burning coals on his head." They As he put it in The War of Art: "We don't say to ourselves, 'I'm never going to write my symphony.' '«.
As he puts it, by pouring himself fully and intentionally into the present, it "makes time fly by." When you hear Stoics put aside certain emotions or material luxuries, it's not because they don't enjoy them. We can be extremely happy with our lives - until we find out that someone we don't like has more.
Like most Stoic exercises, this one tries to teach us that while we control our own opinions, we don't control what other people think—least of all about us. It's a matter of getting up at the right time, making your bed, resisting shortcuts, investing in yourself, doing your job. First, don't get upset - because that will color your decision negatively and make it harder than it needs to be.
It's sad to think that this kind of frustration is an everyday reality for many people.
JUNE
PROBLEM SOLVING
If we are put in prison, our counter clause is that we can refuse to be broken by this turn of events and try to serve our fellow prisoners. You are an heir to an impressive tradition - and as their enduring descendant, you are capable of what they are capable of. One gets into a short line and sticks to it no matter how slow it is or how fast others seem to be going.
And a third transfers just once – when it's clear her line is delayed and there's a clear alternative – and then goes on with her day. Just because you've taken a certain path doesn't mean you're committed to it forever. At the same time, this is no excuse to be fleetingly or relentlessly noncommittal.
We like to say that we can't choose our parents, that they were given by chance - yet we really can choose whose children we want to be." But if we choose, we can easily access the wisdom of those who came before us—those we aspire to be We owe it not only to ourselves to seek out this hard-earned knowledge, we owe it to the people who took the time to gather their experiences sign to try to continue the traditions and to follow their examples - to be the promising children of these noble parents.
You'll be too busy putting one foot in front of the other to even notice the obstacles. But plans, as boxer Mike Tyson pointed out, only last until you get punched in the face. Today you will fight for your goal, you will fight against impulses, you will fight to be the person you want to be.
Third, the wise operate with a reverse clause—meaning they not only consider what could go wrong, but they're prepared for it to be exactly what they want to happen—it's an opportunity for excellence. and virtue.
