Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (July 3, 2019)

Hello there,

This week for our guidance, Marcus Aurelius reminds us we are fallible humans beings with a modus operandi of failing in our pursuit of virtue in Meditations VI 11:

“When you have been compelled by circumstances to be disturbed in a manner, quickly return to yourself and do not continue out of tune longer than the compulsion lasts; for you will have more mastery over the harmony by continually recurring to it.”

Let us not forget, that in the eyes of the Stoa, the starting point for humanity (including ourselves) is one of spiritual destitute, against our own will of course. And so to act ignobly, or succumbing to the reactions of the primal instincts over certain circumstances is not one being bad, but simply reverting back to the “starting point” from which we are all trying to walk away from. My favourite analogy is that of the Stoic drowning man: We are all drowning in the murky water that is our spiritual squalor, and to be a sage is to be at the surface, breathing fresh air and not drowning. The path of the Prokopton (one who follows the path of a Stoic) is this swim towards the surface (yet never attain it, but that is a meditation for another week).

So this week, keep this thought close to your heart and mind: Regardless of whether we have acted good or bad in the past (even in the past 30 seconds), it does not change the ONLY current task that we always have: “Be as good as you possibly can, here and now”. The pursuit of virtue is not perfection but effort. Your success in your pursuit of virtue is not measured in how far you have swum up to the murky water, but how consistently and hard you are trying to get to the surface. But don’t forget we are all drowning to one extent or the other.

Much love to you all and as usual, I wish you a wise and productive week.

Anderson Silver

(Author of “Your User’s Manual” and “Vol 2: Your Duality Within”)