This year has been a good year for thinking about who I really am, and what I believe, and believe in. Writing always helps me to do this, as does reading things, that are new to me, but set off the bells in my brain, and light up my mind in new and good ways.
One of these new to me things is something that’s been around for more that two thousand, and goes back to Ancient Greek and Roman times. This olden times thing is something that resonates with many of us still, and is something that I want to look into as deeply as I can, and to bring it as completely as possible into my life.
So what is this wonderful thing, and will I make lots and lots of money from it, you may ask, breathlessly. Well, let me be brutally honest here, and deal with the money aspect first. No, I will not make lots and lots of money from it. But the more I adopt this thing, the less the fact of not making all of that money matters.
Money is a tool, a useful too, in this day and age, and of course having the money to pay for all of the bills that keep me fed, and sheltered, these are important things. And being able to move around from place to place is extremely important to me too. So, food, house, car, my current situation easily ticks all of those boxes for me.
And my writing life gives me little bits of money too, at certain times of the year, so that helps to pay for extra non-necessary things. But the thing that is firing up my synapses (metaphorically, and perhaps literally too, maybe …).
To get to the ‘guts’ of this blog post then, the thing that has been exciting me these past months is something many people consider to be a dull and boring thing. Those people though, fail to see the full depths of the idea, I feel. The Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, considered as the last of a line of great Roman emperors, firmly believed in this thing, this thought process, this way to live a good life.
So finally, here it is. The wonderful thing is Stoicism. Being a stoic, is explained well on the website that gave me these words to share with you:
“A brief synopsis and definition on this particular school of Hellenistic philosophy: Stoicism was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, but was famously practiced by the likes of Epictetus, Senecaand Marcus Aurelius. The philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.”
If you’d like to read more, the site the above description comes from would be a good one to read. I get emails from this site from time to time, and appreciate the insights I gain from the words I read. This particular part of the site gives some ideas to practise in life, to assist in achieving a more stoic attitude to the things life throws out. I was given a fantastic book for my birthday, and it told me much about how to be a stoic.
This is the book, and I thoroughly recommend anyone interested in Stoicism should get their hands on a copy of the book, and learn more there about it, as seen by the author Massimo Pigliucci.
So that is what I am, or trying to be, a Stoic. I like ideas, I like philosophy, I like the idea of scaling back the ‘stuff’ in my life, and increasing the valuable things in terms of living a life that meets properly with Stoic ideals. An idea I like a lot, is to think on what it is I want to achieve in the day in the morning, first thing, and then to think on whether these things were achieved, and if not, to think on the reasons why they weren’t achieved. I’m not at that level yet, but I’m trying to get there. In small ways, both Facebook and Twitter prompt me to think on things wished for and actually achieved.
And of course, regular blogging can cover some of these ideas/ideals too, but in a rather slap dash way, I must admit. So my idea is this – to begin a new blog, focusing on Being a Stoic. Do I need to do this? Of course not. But looking at it as a stoic should, I can see this would be of assistance to me, to do regular posts about things I want to do, and then look at what I achieve. Like a diary in fact, but one that has an aspect of honesty, both to myself and others, as I put my thoughts and words up for consideration and comment, by others.
I will talk about this journey on this new blog, considering ideas, giving opinions, thoughts, and other things, always from the point of view of myself, and how I see things as I learn more about stoicism. I have thought about this plan, and can see no obstacles to achieving it.
A note to anyone not certain about the meaning of the word ‘Stoic’ or ‘Stoical’ the dictionary definition below gives clues, but doesn’t say much about the fuller truth of this philosophy:
“STOIC”
1capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law
2: one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain
variants: or stoical \ ˈstō-i-kəl \
1 capitalized : of, relating to, or resembling the Stoics or their doctrines Stoic logic
2: not affected by or showing passion or feeling especially : firmly restraining response to pain or distress – ‘stoic indifference to cold’
So there you are, the word stoic is not only to be indifferent to cold, there is much, much more about it, and I hope you can learn more about it in my new blogsite!
The name of my new Blog will be “My Stoic Life”. When I have set up the new site, I will post a link to it on this post, and on other relevant places online. So please feel free to follow me on this new path in my life. And feel free to comment here, if you have anything to assist me in this journey!
And getting you writing written, surely that is a great thing if you are a writer! Buster the Dog, who lives inside my head, who has helped me write three dog-related books so far, he says ‘Woof!, get on with it Human, write those words, then take me for a walk!’
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 