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I promised, as last year was drawing to a close, that I would begin to extol the virtues of Stoicism and, occasionally, Oriental philosophies such as Taoism and Buddhism, on this journal.
Strangely enough, it was a post from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
uncut_diamond which set the ball rolling. Recently, whilst posting on his blog, Uncut Diamond mentioned, in passing whilst discussing the fortunes of the Team Canada Hockey Team, that he'd been given a copy of Marcus Aurelius' book Meditations for Christmas. Since this book is considered a staple of modern Stoic literature, it seemed an appropriate response for me to reply with the comment below to his post.
Stoicism doesn't mean sitting like an impassive stone whilst all around you is going up in flames. :)
You can enjoy your life. In fact, you're required by the logos to enjoy your life, because the capacity for enjoyment is within you, as one of God's many gifts to the human form.
But all that's required of you, once in a while, when it all goes quiet, is to remember that the hurly burly, the fun, the excitement, like the silence and the stillness, is just a temporary condition. This year, the right team won. Congratulations. Next year, your first thought should not be "Will they keep the title next year?" but "Will we all still be here next year to watch that drama develop?"
In the meantime, laugh at adversity, don't you dare trust prosperity, give thanks, give credit to the (proven) best team in the world and do what else is in front of you.
This seems to me to be a good place to begin.
Strangely enough, it was a post from
uncut_diamond which set the ball rolling. Recently, whilst posting on his blog, Uncut Diamond mentioned, in passing whilst discussing the fortunes of the Team Canada Hockey Team, that he'd been given a copy of Marcus Aurelius' book Meditations for Christmas. Since this book is considered a staple of modern Stoic literature, it seemed an appropriate response for me to reply with the comment below to his post.Stoicism doesn't mean sitting like an impassive stone whilst all around you is going up in flames. :)
You can enjoy your life. In fact, you're required by the logos to enjoy your life, because the capacity for enjoyment is within you, as one of God's many gifts to the human form.
But all that's required of you, once in a while, when it all goes quiet, is to remember that the hurly burly, the fun, the excitement, like the silence and the stillness, is just a temporary condition. This year, the right team won. Congratulations. Next year, your first thought should not be "Will they keep the title next year?" but "Will we all still be here next year to watch that drama develop?"
In the meantime, laugh at adversity, don't you dare trust prosperity, give thanks, give credit to the (proven) best team in the world and do what else is in front of you.
This seems to me to be a good place to begin.
