We are in charge of how we approach things. Rather than envisioning a utopian or flawless society, the Stoics practise pragmatism and realism, accepting the world as it is and seeking personal development via virtues like:
Wisdom: the capacity to reason calmly, logically, and without bias.
Bravery: overcoming obstacles and hardships on a daily basis without complaining
Justice: the equitable treatment of others.
Temperance: the state of willing self-control or moderation, in which a person abstains from action out of pure willpower.
Individuals who practise these values have the power to positively influence both themselves and other people. These days, the term "stoic" refers to a person who endures suffering or adversity without expressing emotion or complaining. someone who can handle stress without losing control of their emotions.
We can find serenity in a world full of suffering, fear, and unquenchable desires by practicing stoicism. According to stoics, we cannot ask reality to end our sorrow and pain since it is impersonal and does not give a damn about our personal beliefs. However, this does not mean that we are powerless because there are two aspects of life: the external, which are the events in our lives that are beyond our control, and the internal, which is the way our minds respond to and perceive the outside world and over which we have some control.
If we dwell on the things outside of our control, we will never be content. So, we have to concentrate only on what we can control. Our sense of joy comes from the pursuit of the meaningful things in our lives, not superficial things.
Someone who can live without the things they crave or find comfortable is someone who is truly satisfied. Since wealth, material plenty, celebrity, and power are ephemeral, they are all useless to someone who hasn't yet mastered the art of living without them.
"Almost nothing material is needed for a happy life for he who has understood existence," as Marcus Aurelius puts it.
You can demonstrate your true strength without the things you believe you need by temporarily abstaining from the things you depend on. That's when we'll know that we've been utilising things just because we had them, rather than because we needed them.
We have to acknowledge that nothing is fundamentally good or terrible inherently, but only our judgments and interpretations of things can be good or bad.
Instead than concentrating on managing our responses to the events that occur, we should work towards acceptance and indifference towards everything that occurs. acting morally no matter what bad things life throws at us.
By doing this, we can start to rid the world of its turmoil and discover a sense of contentment and presence within ourselves.
Life is not a race, and we are frequently dissatisfied with our circumstances and compare them to those of others who have achieved greater success. We also continuously consider the possibilities for our lives in the future. Since we can never truly escape the present, we should put more effort into bettering our mental and physical well-being rather than comparing ourselves to others.
It is challenging since our culture persuades us that our level of happiness increases with our possessions and social status. It's true that having material possessions makes us happy, yet this is a trap. It provides us with fleeting pleasure and satisfies our unquenchable thirst for more material goods, which keeps us from stopping at one.
The things we often pursue in life turn out to be relatively little and unimportant after everything is said and done. Our own thoughts, our own perceptions of ourselves, and the way we live our own lives are the true measures of pleasure, not what we possess or do or how other people see us through our virtues.
And we can achieve this by focusing on our own personal development, accepting reality as it is, and showing indifference to the things we cannot influence. This is how we stay content and contented with who we are, according to stoicism.
Add comment
Comments