Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (July 31, 2019)

Hello there,

This week for our practice, let us admit we are not all-knowing, nor are we born with all the knowledge, and learn something we thought we already knew. Marcus Aurelius reminds us to keep learning what we think we already know in Meditations VI 21:

“If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly change; for I seek the truth by which no man was ever injured. But he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance.”

We tend to think we know certain things. If you study something and it makes sense, then you’re convinced you know the ultimate truth about it. But one thing we know for sure about knowledge (both within and in general) is that it is always improving and changing. Socrates said it best in his dictum “I only know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” We are not born with all the knowledge, and ever when we learn something we can learn a better way, or even learn that what we thought we knew was wrong. There is no shame or error in not knowing. The error is in denying we can always learn and better our selves, even including in things we think we know.

So this week, learn something new. But make an effort to learn something that you thought you already knew. This could be a difficult task to do in a week, but it is not the scop that is important, but the application. In other words, this new knowledge does not have to be life-changing, or related to philosophy. It could be something as simple as cooking eggs in a better way. Seek out some knowledge (as much as you can) no matter how small, to “update” (if you will) your knowledge basin. The idea is to drive home that until our last breath we must be open to new ideas, even those who may seem opposed to what we think we know. Use your rational thought to judge whether new information is of value…not your ego.

Let the group know what new things you learned, so we can learn through you!

As always, much love to you all and I wish you a wise, tranquil and productive week.

Anderson Silver

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