The Barefoot Corporate Warrior
Paul Bird discovers wise words that reach across Millennia.
Choose not to be harmed – and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed – and you haven’t been. – Marcus Aurelius.
The Stoics have made something of a comeback in recent years… a comeback more than 2,000 years in the making.
Looking beyond our everyday definition of stoicism – a demeanour of quiet determination in the face of adversity – we find an entire philosophy available to us in the shopping mall of belief systems.
Stoicism emphasises a form of mind-training, stressing rationality and logic as a blueprint for living fully and preparing for death. Theirs is a philosophy which stresses the internal landscape as the interpreter of the external world. They advise looking within in order to be able to respond to the hurly-burly of existence with wisdom, an open awareness to what is actually happening with poise.
The Stoic School of Philosophy was founded by Zeno of Citium in 300BC in Greece. Popular with Romans its most famous thinkers include Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Chrysippus.
It resonates today because of its earthy, commonsense approach to the trials and tribulations of the human condition and the internet and social media have given Stoic philosophy new life, greater reach and new followers.
I have been aware of the Stoics for some years and have occasionally come across snippets or quotes which seemed to resonate at that particular moment.
I have recently taken a deeper dive into the world of the Stoics through the writings of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a high-ranking Roman who served as chief advisor to Emperor Nero in the first century (and fell victim to him in the end).
Seneca’s writings address key aspects of the human condition offering insights into many of our experiences within Stoic themes.
These emphasise the fundamental importance of living to the dictates of the natural world and its processes, adopting a framework of ethical and moral codes which cultivate a virtuous life, accepting fate, maintaining emotional control and on the importance of preparing for death.
We suffer more often in imagination than in reality. Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body. – Seneca.
It is a type of wisdom which also stresses acting in the common good.
What injures the hive injures the bee. – Marcus Aurelius.
Marcus is another leading Stoic figure. Emperor of Rome from 161-180 AD his private self-guidance reflections have been widely published and I am working my way through his tome, Meditations, one thought/paragraph per day, reflecting in order to fully understand what he is trying to tell me across the time, space, culture and geography of millennia.
As with all wisdom, there are some insights which I instill into my thinking and others which I discard as they do not resonate with me and my circumstances.
As a philosophy rather than a religion, Stoicism is designed to provide guardrails for how to live rather than prescribe our actions and thoughts with higher purpose or to direct from ‘on high’ – this is not to say that God/Gods aren’t mentioned.
While lacking the formality of ritual and edifice common to religions, I find Stoic thought quite comforting. I might be in awe that ancient writings once again underscore our common humanity, grappling as we are for meaning whenever and however we have lived or are living.
In the modern context, we might describe the Stoic approach as a re-framing of our thought into patterns which are beneficial and point us towards a more aware or mindful state of being. They are a prompt to action and change.
I’ve learnt the hard way however that there is a world of difference between understanding what might be considered wise words at an intellectual level and actually living those words in practice.
Our quest to make sense of the Universe, and how we navigate our place in it is as old as the human story and we do need to bring a modicum of questioning and cynicism to any belief system which we come across. Our mortality and the mysterious nature of how and when we will die give this quest an urgency which has sprouted forth myths, religions, philosophies and stories which allow us to live our lives free from constant craving, worry and anxiety. It is a neat mindtrick and coping mechanism as it seems that humans need to believe in something in order to navigate life – an anchor of some sort to tether us against the highs and lows of bobbing about in a sea of risk and uncertainty.
Even a belief in nothing is a belief.
It can act as a mental and emotional salve allowing us to live without the never-ending compulsion to seek. There is a calmness of spirit which comes with the acceptance of and adherence to a belief system.
According to Stoic thinking, how we view the world around us and the events and incidents of our lives is ours to determine. Our interpretation belongs to us, to our mind. It’s all in how you perceive it. You’re in control. You can dispense with misperception at will, like rounding the point. Serenity, total calm, safe anchorage.
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius.
As a seeker it seems we have two choices – to find a philosophy or religion we can commit to with all our might, or to browse and cherry-pick here-and-there taking the most resonant of practices, directions and wise counsel available from the myriad approaches on offer to create our own hybrid system.
I’m more of the cherry-picker-gatherer, a bundler of wisdoms. Does that mean I lack conviction, a faith ‘gene’ or the courage to commit? Perhaps. For me it pays to keep an open mind to who and what may offer answers that relate to me. The Stoics offer much to consider in this regard and can inspire Springtime renewal: think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it.
Give Yourself a gift: the present moment. – Marcus Aurelius.
