A Tad of Stoicism

First day after the circuit-breaker. Well, for me, due to alternate working day arrangement, I will be back in office only on Wednesday, 3 Jun 20. Glad to say that I have survived being cooped up at home most of the time, up to this point. The breaks I took walking, or running, at the park near my house are simply helpful. Nature is a wondeful thing.

Finished my read, "Lessons in Stoicism" by John Sellars. I guess it did offer a few fresh perspectives. Still, it falls on the same thread of most philosophy: before facing life, you have to learn to face death. What is stuck in my mind is that religions curtail this reach for meaning of death to be translated to life, by suggesting the notions of heaven and hell - now, this is in no way, mentioned in the book, as Stoicism existed way before Christianity.

Yet, in many ways, philosophy is like a religion, seeking to "heal the soul", to pursue a virtuous character. One high point, personally, has to be the part where it is said that the mind is complicit in letting you feel hurt, be it physically or emotionally. So it is at this point when you pass judgement (that you are hurt) that you have control over the emotion, like anger, before it overwhelms you, or has "run too fast", and nothing can be stopped, like a fall from a tall building.

And I like the idea that the Stoics draw delight from within themselves: no external possessions are required for happiness. There is the Roman concept of Nature: how we are all parts of "Nature", which is like one living organism, includiing the non-organic matters like rocks and atmosphere, and how all these elements interact with each other to produce the environment to perpetuate its existence.

In our nature as a social and political animal, we are part of the local and global communities, hence have roles and responsibilities in them, as parents or simply as a human being toward other fellow human beings. This is most heartening, as Stoics believes in equality, inclusiveness and justice, and the courage to stand up for these, as we are all branches to the same tree.