Stoicism
It’s a way of life as I am told. It’s facing hardship in life with strength. It has four virtues Wisdom, Justice, Courage and Temperance. I’m still learning about it, but what I’ve learnt till now resonate with me.
Stoicism starts by categorising things into two categories. One, that is in your control. The other, that is out of your control. It’s about understanding the difference. It’s described to be an art. When something that displeases us, happens, we choose to react to it in a certain way. It’s in our control how we take in experiences.
Stoicism says that it’s pointless to break down something that went wrong. We must strive to live in the present moment, for you’re dying as your read this article. Stoicism says that death is not something you prepare for, it’s happening continuously. It is not the event that disturbs people, it is the judgement about things.
You can not find a single person who is not influenced by the people he spends time with. I think Seneca said that, if you tell me about your friends, I can tell about you. The circle we choose is in our control.
Marcus Aurelius practiced stoicism.
Any difficulty we face, must be faced with Wisdom, Justice, Courage and Temperance. We can either choose to run away from the hardships or treat it as an opportunity in the process of self development.
We must get rid of self conceit. As it is impossible to learn something that we thing we already know.
A true man is revealed in difficult times. Think of yourself paired with a tough young buck. For what purpose? To make you olympic-class.
There are many things that crush us. Most of it is the imagination than the reality. I don’t think imagination being a powerful tool must be used for suffering.
Excellence withers without adversity. Those who goes through life without adversity becomes a tragic figure. As fire is the test of gold, adversity is the rest of strong men. When you pass through life without an opponent no one can know what you’re capable of. Not even you. Seek out the difficulty so you can be stronger and better and more prepared.
At dawn when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work as a human being. What do i have to complain of, if I am going to do what I was born for — The things I was brought into this world to do. Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”
Our actions may be impeded, but there can be no impeding our intentions or our dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
If, at some point in your life, if you should find anything better than justice, honesty, self-control, and courage, if you find anything better than that embrace it without reservation. It must be an extraordinary thing indeed.
No. It’s fortunate that this has happened and I’ve remained unharmed by it — Not shattered by the present or frightened of the future. It could have happened to anyone. But not everyone could have remained unharmed by it.
You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.
