Uncharted Thoughts.

“You have power over your mind, not outside events” – Marcus Aurelius

Okay, maybe there is a little bit of a exaggeration here, but stoicism has changed the way I think forever, which in turn has changed the way I feel for good. About two years ago, I found myself in a really bad job, in a really bad relationship and completely lost in where I was supposed to be. In an attempt to find purpose and a way out of this deepening black hole, I decided to explore philosophy. In doing so, I found Marcus Aurelius. Upon this discovery I soon realised that I was exactly where I was supposed to be and always have and will be.

Recently a dear friend of mine went into a state of complete depression, following his life being turned upside down in a single moment. After loosing everything he held dear, his house, his girl friend, his dog and his job he rang me in hysterics, and it was my duty to travel back to my hometown and comfort him in his darkest hour, and so I did. I made the trip back home, armed with the only thing I felt that could save him in this diabolical moment. Marcus Aurelius’s book, Meditations. You see, when a friend is in this situation every suggestion you make, every healing word you remark could end with catastrophe. I am no therapist or phycologist, how can I help? When my words could, without intention, so easily do more damage than is already done. So, I thought, let me help him, by offering what helped me… a very old book.

Marcus Aurelius

“Never forget that the universe is a single living organism possessed of one substance and one soul, holding all things suspended in a single consciousness and creating all things with a single purpose that they might work together spinning and weaving and knotting whatever comes to pass.” – Marcus Aurelius

To give you some context on Marcus Aurelius, I will dedicate this short subheading to him. Marcus is considered one of the five great emperors of Rome in the Golden Era of the Roman Empires long and complicated history. Marcus, like many Roman emperors, was adopted (by Antoninus Pius) and groomed to be emperor. Upon his succession to the throne in 161, his first act as emperor was to give away half of his power to his brother Lucius (Adopted brother). Now, I think this is one of the key elements or moments within Marcus’s life, to give half his power away at his succession is to give half of the world away. Most emperors at this time killed any threat to their power. Marcus chose to save his brother from death, sparing him and gifting him power beyond measure.

To be emperor in Rome, was to be God on earth. Unlimited power, unlimited wealth, unlimited depravities, be it lust, wrath or gluttony. Marcus however chose to live a life of simplicity and wisdom. Don’t get me wrong, he never starved, never slept rough or went without. I doubt the emperor of Rome got bed bugs or went weeks without bathing. Yet he did not live a life of a God like many of the other emperors did. Instead he chose a much simpler life, one that practiced wisdom over lust, honour over greed and humility over depravity. I don’t think some of us realise how much restraint this would have taken, and even fewer of us could have dealt with such power and not become fat, egotistical, sexually perverted arseholes. To be given the power of the known world, and to ignore its temptations.

This is the man Marcus was, a man of honour, principles and integrity.

What is Stoicism?

“All things are parts of one single system, which is called nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with nature.” –Zeno of Citium

Well, to put it bluntly Stoicism is branch of philosophy, grand-fathered by Zeno of Citium, fathered by Marcus Aurelius and made popular by Socrates, Diogenes, Hecato of Rhodes and many others. This branch of philosophy is built upon the idea of finding happiness, purpose and to live life to the fullest in a stoic manor. What is a stoic manor? well its not easy to describe but I will try my best. The Stoic aura or ambience is to be able to control ones mind through positive thinking. What we think determines who we are and how we feel. Better put by Marcus “The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes the colours of your thoughts”.

So, we have established that we are our thoughts. Nothing new there. Stoicism goes much further than that though, it believes that we are able to control out emotions through thought. A very controversial topic in this modern age as we are told that we can not change our emotions or thoughts, that our soul is not in control of our thoughts, if there is a soul at all. Today it is frowned upon to state that we have control of our thought patterns, if someone is depressed, we are told that saying “think differently” or “be more positive” is unsensitive, immoral and inherently wrong.

Yet, after practicing Stoicism, I believe we can control our thoughts. In fact, I think and so does the listings of other Stoics, that our thought are the only thing we can control. All else is to the will of the universe. “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

It must be stated here that Stoicism is a double edged sword. Although there are many many positives within its teachings. There is also a negative side, that if left unchecked could destroy ones ability to have motivation or purpose. You see, to be Stoic, is to be “zen” in ones own thoughts, and as stated before, it is to be in control of our thoughts and actions but nothing else. This, can and has with myself, made me complacent and without motivation. To look at the world and at the ourselves as a microscopic organism in a great cosmos, is to determine that I have no power so what’s the point? Why should I try or act when I am here for but a moment in history, a split second compared to the vastness of time. To put it simply “Soon, you will have forgotten everything. Soon, everybody will have forgotten you”.

This is where Diogenes comes in to play. Possibly one of the most flamboyant and charismatic philosophers, and definitely one of the funniest. Diogenes believed that nothing matters, that life is chaos and we are here for the ride. He lived in a large clay pot. With little to no possessions. He would bath naked in public and defecate on the streets. With the belief that wealth and materialism, is but lust for objects rather than of positive value of the mind. Although his story is clouded in mythos and theory. It is said that Alexander the Great visited Diogenes upon his arrival in Athens. Here he sort out the philosopher and offered to grant him anything he wished. To which Diogenes replied “Stand out of my light”… meaning could you move out of the way of the sun, I’m trying to get a tan.

To compare this to the modern age is like King Charles III or Elon Musk visiting you and offering you any worldly desire and you asking him to bugger off because he is standing in your way. To be truthful, Alexander the Great was a God like being, like Marcus, with unlimited wealth and power he could have granted Diogenes a new palace, one thousand slaves, an army of his own or richest beyond our imagining. Instead, Diogenes wanted to get a even tan.

All jokes aside, Diogenes, took an approach to Stoicism that many fall into the trap of. That we possess only power over our thoughts and the world will go on without our trying, so what’s the point? A very sloth like approach to life and work. What I think he forgot is a key component to the Stoic belief, one that Marcus triumphed most and that is that work is a part of our existence as we are built to do it. Marcus states “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”.

Like the ant that swarms over an apple core to feed the colony, like the bird wakes to catch the early rising worms, like lions preying on grazing gazel and like the tree who stretches toward the sunlight. We are built like them, in accordance to nature, to produce art in everything we do. I found myself in the Diogenes trap, I found myself caring little about life, instead I focused on a consistent feeling of zen, taking only happiness from nature and thoughts of the soul.

We are a part of the universe, we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” – Marcus Aurelius

One key teaching Marcus preached was the importance of nature. How we, like the ant, are but a part of something greater. We are not special as such, we are the universe as we are part of it. Much like cells in our body, or an atom in our flesh, we are small, insignificant to the greater universe. That we are a part of nature, that our attempt to separate ourselves from it is folly and unfulfilling. “We are members of one great body, planted by nature … We must consider that we were born for the good of the whole.” We must admire nature and its beauty and realise that we are a part of that beauty. That we are here to do what nature has bid us to do, nothing more.

It’s ironic, that these thought had come to me previously. While travelling through Nepal in 2018, while stood under the Himalayan mountains, feeling small and insignificant, years before my discovery of Stoicism. I remember thinking that I was a part of something larger, that I was a animal like the Yaks that passed me on the Annapurna trail. I was here to do nothing more than what nature expected of me, all else was out of my control and that was fine. I am as powerful as nature intended me to be. That if I am to see the stars that night, I should rejoice in that moment, and that I should think no more of materialistic possessions or to think of how I was supposed to be somewhere else or do something else. For I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Winds of change

“Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What’s closer to nature’s heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood as it was? Eat food without transforming it? Can any vital process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—and just as vital to nature.” – Marcus Aurelius

Perhaps my words have brought excitement to you, maybe this was the final step on your path to greatness and peace of mind. Well I have some news for you. Stoicism isn’t as easy as thinking positively, you can’t just wake up one day and be a Stoic. It takes time, concentration and regular study. I wouldn’t yet consider myself to be a Stoic, I’d say I was a novice in the journey to enlightenment, a student of philosophy and mindfulness.

I have read Meditations twice since 2021 and am currently reading it through a third time. Although there is no scripture of Stoic enlightenment, Marcus Aurelius’ book Meditations, is widely considered the biblical text of its teachings. If I was to send you on a path towards Stoicism, I would say to you first read Meditations. Do not skip the introduction, neither parts that drag or have little relevance to how you feel at the time, nor take months to do it. I would recommend taking a week to read through it, to comprehend as much as you can. Then, and only then start to practice its teachings and read more into the philosophy.

It is easy to fall into the carefree life of Diogenes, to sit back watch the world burn while sitting in a clay pot. No doubt you will fall into this from time to time when trying to find Stoic enlightenment and while you are there enjoy it. Because it is a fun position to be in, when your boss is yelling at you, you can stand with a smirk on your face and realise non of this matters because in an hour or less, you will be out in the sunshine watching the birds fly and the blossoms bloom. It will feel like a cheat code for life, a way of feeling happy as everyone else looks on with a big question mark over their troubled heads. Remember though that, work, the happiness of others and being the best person you can be is the path to true Stoicism, for “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

Read this if you are at the end of your rope, if you feel that life is all too much…

“That which isn’t good for the hive, isn’t good for the bee.” – Marcus Aurelius

How can a book written by an emperor over two thousand years ago have any relevance on our busy technological lives today? Well it’s simple, life be it then, now or in two thousand years from now, is the same as it always has been. Marcus, Elon Musk, Elton John and myself may come from different backgrounds, live completely different lives, yet we are all part of the human condition. We all have hard times, we all live mortal lives, have to get up to go to work, watch our loved ones grow old and die and have days that sometimes we feel can’t get any worse. Yet, with Stoic wisdom, these long days and early mornings can be turned upon their head and with our minds be seen as positive.

If you are going through something now, perhaps some of the best passages from Meditations could put your troubling mind at ease. Here are some of my personal favourites, ones that pushed me out of that dark black hole I was in two years ago.

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love…”

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”

“Don’t return to philosophy as a task-master, but as patients seek out relief in a treatment of sore eyes, or a dressing for a burn, or from an ointment. Regarding it this way, you’ll obey reason without putting it on display and rest easy in its care.”

“You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.”

“We are like many pellets of incense falling on the same altar. Some collapse sooner, others later, but it makes no difference.”

“That cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance?”

“You have been formed of three parts—body, breath, and mind. Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care. The third alone is truly yours.”

Peace be upon you, and thank you for the read.