With
respect to pain, then, and pleasure, or death and life, or honor and dishonor,
which the Universal Nature employs equally, whoever is not equally affected is
manifestly acting impiously.
And
I say that the Universal Nature employs them equally, instead of only saying
that they happen alike to those who are produced in continuous series, and to
those who come after them by virtue of a certain original movement of
Providence, according to which it moved from a certain beginning to this
ordering of things, having conceived certain principles of the things which
were to be, and having determined powers productive of beings and of changes
and of such like successions.
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9.1 (tr
Long)
Whatever may
happen, and whatever may come my way, I should always be equally affected by
all of it. This is the classic Stoic principle of indifference. It does not
mean that these things don’t matter, or that they have no meaning and purpose,
or that I should ignore them, but rather that their value will be revealed only
by what I choose to do with them.
If it exists
within Nature, it exists for a reason. All of it, each and every bit, has its
place. The world will throw things at me that seem pleasant or unpleasant. It
may kill me or let me live. It may raise me up or cast me down.
Still, whatever
occurs is meant to be as it is. This is why I must view gratification as no
better than suffering, death as no better than life, honor as no better than
dishonor. They are given to me equally, and I am asked to receive them equally,
understanding that they all equally provide me an opportunity to live well.
We are so used
to thinking that “good” and “bad” things happen to us, that we can hardly think
outside of this context. Why has Nature done me wrong? She hasn’t. I have done
myself wrong. Embrace the Stoic Turn.
If she gives me
wealth or poverty, health or sickness, fame or obscurity, she is always
reminding me that she has already given me the only thing I ever require to be
happy, a mastery over myself. Everything else for me will proceed from my use
of that mastery.
This is why the
man who frets, who complains, or who demands more for himself is also impious.
He rejects the strength of his own nature, and he rejects the order of
Providence. He thinks of himself only by what he gets, not by what he gives. He believes that, as part of the whole, the whole should only serve him. The whole
will indeed always offer benefit to him, but it will not always gratify him.
I have often
wanted to hate God, to curse Him, to deny Him, because He does not give me what
I want. No matter. He gives me what I need, and He gives me the freedom to make
myself be as good as I decide to be.
It isn’t just
that Providence makes or allows this or that to happen, but rather that
Providence orders all that happens to be of use as an occasion for growth and
improvement.
Effects proceed
from causes, and all action toward an end requires Intelligence to direct that
action. It was that way from the beginning, and it permeates the succession of
everything that follows.
Piety is not a
blind acceptance of uncaring fate. Piety is a profound respect for how my own
choices and actions should exist within the design of all of Nature. Piety is the
awe, wonder, and gratitude for being given the chance to share and cooperate
with Universal Nature.
Written in 7/2008
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