. . . We must, therefore, escape from
them into freedom.
This nothing will bestow upon us except
contempt of Fortune. But if we attain to this, then there will dawn upon us
those invaluable blessings, the repose of a mind that is at rest in a safe
haven, its lofty imaginings, its great and steady delight at casting out errors
and learning to know the truth, its courtesy, and its cheerfulness.
In all of these we shall take delight,
not regarding them as good things in themselves, but as proceeding from the
proper good of man.
—Seneca
the Younger, On the happy life,
Chapter 4 (tr Stewart)
We often
think of freedom in terms of being free from
something, of having a limitation removed. We can also think of freedom in
terms of being free in something, of
embracing a responsibility or commitment. I find both of these aspects helpful
in the practice of Stoicism, because each of these is only fully possible
through the other.
I must
learn not to depend upon Fortune, but I must cast aside what is unreliable and
fleeting by also pursuing what is truly fulfilling and constant. I am not just
defined by what is bad for me, by what I should avoid, but also by what is good
for me, by what I should seek. It is only the complete embrace of Nature that
allows me to escape from Fortune.
As a
child, being told what I shouldn’t do
sometimes frustrated me. A begrudging compliance could only be transformed into
a willful commitment when I understood what I should do, and why it was worth doing. That I should not lie,
cheat, or steal only completely made sense if I also knew that I needed to
love. If I need to run away from one thing, I also need something else to be
running toward. Don’t just tell me how not to be bad, but show me how to be
good.
Learning
to be accountable for my own thoughts and deeds brings with it many benefits. It
brings with it a place of rest, a peace of mind, and a sense of profound
contentment. The satisfaction of feeling
good is, however, not itself the end, but a consequence of that purpose, of being good. The very reason a life
virtue is satisfying is precisely because I am not seeking satisfaction alone,
divorced from any right responsibility and action.
One of
the greatest trials of my life was caring for someone who, it turned out, had
developed only half of a conscience. Right or wrong were measured solely by
pursuing praise and avoiding blame from others, and were determined entirely by
external rewards and punishments. I was met with a blank stare if I suggested
that doing right was its own reward.
The
whole experience taught me that things in life are never good just because they
are pleasant, but they are rightly pleasant because they are good. Once I have
my own wires crossed regarding the good and the pleasant, I am caring only for
a freedom from consequences, and not a freedom in character.
Written in 6/2009
Image: Engelbert Ergo, The Escape of Lot from Sodom (early 17th c.)
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