Judge
every word and deed that are according to Nature to be fit for you; and do not be
diverted by the blame which follows from any people, nor by their words, but if
a thing is good to be done or said, do not consider it unworthy of you.
For
those persons have their peculiar leading principle and follow their peculiar
movement. Do not regard these things, but go straight on, following your own
nature and the common Nature; and the way of both is one.
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 5 (tr
Long)
What
will people think, and what will people say? It is one of those odd habits of
human behavior to take the very thing that defines us, our own thinking and
action, and then immediately allow that to be ruled by the thinking and actions
of others.
It is
something like reducing life to a game of Simon Says, or like a reflection of
the never-ending cycle of new fashions in clothing, music, or politics. Look
around at everyone else, and follow suit.
The
Stoic will never tell you not to listen to others, or not to seek wisdom and
guidance, or not to look to a good example, but he will insist that you do your
own thinking and choosing for yourself. We are all tasked with finding our own
place and playing our own part in the order of Nature, not to find another’s
place or play another’s part.
If I
can, with a conscience that is both humble and confident, know what must be
done to live well, then that is what I should do. I should not be looking at
what happens to be popular, what will bring me anything external, and what will
simply improve my circumstances.
Am I
seeking virtue above all else? That will do. Starting with a sincere effort to
practice the Cardinal Virtues, in the most ordinary and everyday of situations,
is as good a place as any. That is what will improve my nature, and therefore be
in harmony with Nature as a whole.
We often
struggle with what we think is a false opposition between ourselves and other
things. We assume there must be the presence of conflict, that my way and your
way will necessarily disagree, or that cooperation or compromise is settling
for second best.
But this
does not need to be so. I can rest assured that if I do what is right for
myself, living simply as a human being, then I will never need to do any harm
to anyone or anything else.
My own
true benefit is always within the benefit of my neighbor, because he is a
social animal like myself. My own true benefit is always within the benefit of
the entire Universe, because I am a small but integral part of it. They are
always one and the same, even when I refuse to see it. Their ways will always
converge, even when it is not immediately apparent.
People
may pursue values and goals we discern as contrary to Nature, but even such a
use of choice by others, however it may frustrate or sadden us, also serves
Nature. If nothing else, I may use it to commit myself to what is good all the
more.
Written in 3/2006
Image: Paul Signac, In the Time of Harmony (c. 1895)
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