Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (January 24, 2021)

Hello there,

Let us continue challenging our externals with our rational mind with these inspiring words from Marcus Aurelius. This is from his meditations VI 13:

“As in the case of meat and similar eatables the thought strikes us, this is the dead body of a fish, this of a fowl or pig; and again that this Falernian wine is merely the juice of a grape-cluster, and this purple edged robe is nought but sheep’s wool steeped in the blood of a shell-fish; or, of sexual inter course, that it is merely internal attrition and the spasmodic excretion of semen and mucus – such, I say, as are these impressions that get to grips with the actual things and enter into the heart of them, so as to see them as they really are, thus should it be thy life through, and where things look to be above measure convincing, laying them quite bare, behold their paltriness and strip off their conventional prestige.”

Last week we were talking about accepting external circumstances, no matter how inconvenient and dispreferred, with open arms and to be thankful for them. This is not an easy task, especially when we are faced with circumstances that challenge our animal brains and trigger emotions. One way around this is to take the time to reflect on said externals, break them down to basic components and see them in their nakedness for the arbitrary and (often) inanimate things that they are.

This is exactly what Marcus Aurelius is reminding us here. So as a practical exercise this week, try and challenge your contemporary label, ideas, names and associated values of externals. Whatever the external circumstance is I guarantee you that you are associating a false value judgment to it out of sheer habit. And if you just take the time to write about it or reflect on it (as much as possible) objectively you will quickly identify it’s true nature. This in turn could go a long way in giving you the strength and courage to deal with it head on without any emotions of false value judgments about it.

If you feel like it, share an observation or two. You would be surprised how many people you could inspire with your own stories.

Anderson Silver