Meditations for the New Year
AI Free
January 2025
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck
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| Cold enough for you, John? |
Ah, the nadir in our winter of discontent and Dear Leader is . . . bored. Make that cold and bored. We were supposed to be back in FL now but thanks to Hurricane Helene we are receiving winter's gift of sweetness. That said, I apologize in advance for dragging you into my ennui but I will do my best to give you some reason to keep reading (but no guarantees.)
So how are you doing with your resolutions - assuming you were foolish enough to make them. Perhaps I can offer something that you can stick with, at least for a while, and hopefully you might even find it interesting if not entertaining. (And also helpful for the next four years.)
I mean, how often do you get to read about Greek philosophy, Ceasars, golf and self- improvement in a single short post?
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Ceasar and by most accounts he was both a good Ceasar and a (fairly) good man, neither of which was very common. (As a unhistoric note, he was the Ceasar who was murdered by his son, Commodus, in the original “Gladiator” movie.) The reason I mention him is simply a cheap trick to get your attention with something vaguely interesting.
Okay, so he was also one of the more famous practitioners of the old Greek philosophy of Stoicism. And the reason I bring that up is because it has been around for about 2300 years and is becoming kind of fashionable again. (I took Philosophy 101* in college making me an expert in it - just kidding!)
"Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The Stoics believed that the practice of virtue is enough to achieve eudaimonia (a well-lived life.) The Stoics identified the path to achieving it with a life spent practicing the four cardinal virtues in everyday life - prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice - as well as living in accordance with nature." |
| Famous Norwegian Stoic |
In my frequent moments of free time in the intervening 50-plus years I have often bumped into stoicism and I find it fascinating how some old things just keep coming round. That and it is a very pervasive philosophy that has influenced many great thinkers and religions over the years.
Please allow me to inflict my enthusiasm for it on you.
Recently, via one of the many "smart people" I subscribe to, I watched a short video (see below) that was both interesting and informative – not bad for one that is about philosophy, huh? It didn’t advertise itself as Stoicism but, as our old AF survival school teacher said, "If it looks like a banana, smells like a banana and tastes like a banana - it's a freaking banana so eat it!" The title is “How to Grow Deeply Happy” by Jonny Thomson. (I know, who needs to be happy especially now, right?)
Aurelius said, "You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this and you will find strength"
In Dear Leader-speak, “Hey, stop worrying about stuff you can’t control, don't whine and just try to do the right thing at all times; that will be hard enough without a bunch of worrying.” (Well, something like that.) Anyway lots of philosophers and theologians have tried to come up with finding the secret to happiness - and a lot of it ends up be like stoicism.
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| Man in desperate need of stoic thoughts |
The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily
You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite.
Marcus Aurelius in "Meditations"
Okay, so in the video Jonny boils down all flowery words to three things that he calls “the three pillars of happiness”:
(Egregious use of dogs)
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| Various creatures who clearly have achieved eudaimonia (Egregious use of buffoons)  |
Second, Moderation (talk about stoicism!) He mentions the "Golden Mean" an ancient term that equates to the phrase “moderation (or balance) in all things.” It has been around a long time and across many cultures. Jonny mentions Chinese Yin/Yang and the Swedish concept of “Lagom” which loosely translates into “just the right amount.” It is a key aspect of Buddhism, "The Middle Way" and is also present in some way in virtually every other religion.
Third, and last, Virtue (the Greeks were very big on this but I’m not sure even they knew exactly how to define or describe it.) Lots of people and lots of cultures have their definition of virtues but our guy says it really boils down to five things to do and their opposite (Vices) to avoid; seek the golden mean:
- Altruism/Egoism
- Kindness/Cruelty
- Justice/Injustice
- Wisdom/Ignorance
- Humility/Arrogance
Well that seems pretty difficult, maybe that's why I haven't been a very good stoic. So I guess instead of just whiling away the hours here (complaining about the weather) what I SHOULD be doing is actually examining where I am on the Three Pillars.
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| I got your examination right here! |
I probably won’t like the results of my examination but it will give me something worthwhile to work on besides my putting and bugging my friends. To paraphrase Bill from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, when quoting So-Crates, "The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." Ted (and Dear Leader) responds: "That's me, dude!"
Anyway, if you already knew all this I hope it wasn't too painful. Meanwhile I'm off to seek eudaimonia.
I hope you enjoy the rest of this magical (tongue firmly in cheek) season.
PS With #47 now taking over the presidential reins in his tiny little hands this stoic stuff could come in very handy.
YouTube:
How to Grow Deeply Happy (10 mins)
Good Vibrations Beach Boys
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