THE STOIC 8 September 2020

When we are in the grip of negativeemotions, worries, and anxieties, fearcan still take hold of us and cloud ourjudgment, even if we practice Stoicismregularly. We can deal with theseproblems by knowing that we haveresources available for whatever lifemay throw at us and remembering thatwe are more resilient than we think.

As we keep practicing these principles,we realize nothing can harm us exceptourselves. We start to see things as theyare, a procession of colourful events.Some of the unusual events may lookscary but, in the end, are powerless toharm us—until we give them thatpower.

When we start seeing life and others asincapable of harming us, a gentle senseof humour and compassion replacesour constant caution and the frequentfeeling of hurt. We become confidentthat we will always have the resourcesneeded to cope with life. We set downthe heavy burden of our imagineduniverse that we thought was alwaysready to hurt us.

What is death? A scary mask. Take itoff. See, it doesn’t bite… What is pain?A scary mask. Turn around and look.Our flesh is affected by impressions—sometimes hard and sometimessmooth. (Epictetus, Discourses 2.1)

Being compassionate

One of the fundamentalmisconceptions of Stoicism is that it iscold, unfeeling, emotionless, andtherefore uninvolved. This perceptionmay be because the ancient Stoics usedthe word “passion” to denote negativeemotions. It is easy to mischaracterize

the Stoics as “dispassionate” andtherefore withdrawn. Not so. Theancient Stoics were cosmopolitans whowere actively engaged with life andsought to help others.

Help those in need as far as you can. Theydeserve it. (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations5.35)

They helped others not just because itwas their duty to do so as a part ofhumanity but also because they weresympathetic to other people’sdifficulties, without necessarilyidentifying themselves with others’problems.

I should not be unfeeling like a statue butshould take care of my natural and acquiredrelationships—as a human being whohonours gods, as a son, as a brother, as afather, as a citizen. (Epictetus, Discourses3.2.4 )

Their compassion forothers was notdiminished even thoughthey knew that everyoneis responsible for theirown happiness. Whensomebody is grieving,

Be careful not to showdisdain for their grief. Showthem sympathy, usecomforting words, and evenshare their misery outwardly.(Epictetus, Enchiridion 16)

And, as a result, theyvalued fellow feeling,humanity, and sociability.

This is the first premise thatphilosophy holds out to us:

fellow feeling, humanity, sociability. (Seneca,Moral Letters 5-4)

As a Stoic, you are not withdrawn butare vigorously engaged in society. Youwill be subject to emotions likeeveryone else, no matter how long youpractice. But the grip of negativeemotions will not last long. Neither willit be vise-like.

Being less than perfect

So, if you practice Stoicism, will younever be angry, upset, or fearful?

Not really. You can practice Stoicismall your life, and yet your first reactionto someone coming at you with a knifecan be fear; you will still feel startled bysome unexpected commotion; you willagain feel sad when a loved one dies,and you will again feel panic whenthere is severe turbulence when you fly.All these are natural.

A courageous person will frownat sad things; will be startled bya sudden occurrence; will feeldizzy when looking down ifstanding at the brink. This isnot fear, but a natural feelingnot to be overcome by reason.(Seneca, Moral Letters 57)

So, you don’t have to beembarrassed if you feelanger or fear. Your initialreaction to an impressionis not that of your rationalmind.

Whatever is implanted andinborn can be reduced withpractice, but not overcome.(Seneca, Moral Letters 11)

This is the nineteenth excerpt from our10-week course on Stoicism.The bookcovering all course material, readings,and exercises is available fromhttps://amzn.to/2Ck0fje.

HOWTO BE STOICWHENYOUDON’T KNOW

EVERYDAY stoicism:Being compassionate