Seneca, On Peace of Mind 3.2

“He whose object is to be of service to his countrymen and to all mortals, exercises himself and does good at the same time when he is engrossed in business and is working to the best of his ability, both in the interests of the public and of private men.“

We may sometimes assume that our only options in life are between doing something and doing nothing, and so there is the temptation to either fully engage the world or to give up entirely.

What is so easily overlooked is the power to discern the quality of the things we do, to do them rightly, and to be aware of the value in the reasons we choose to do them. Work does not have to be a burden, or a diversion, or a way to overcome our restlessness; it can rather be an expression of all that is good in this life, finding joy in service both to ourselves and to others.

Remember that Serenus is sometimes motivated to get things done, and at other times wants nothing more than to isolate himself. Whenever I have felt this way, it has been because I have lost a sense of the very meaning of work.

I may commit myself to a task in the hopes of winning all sorts of external rewards, or in the expectation of being appreciated and admired. If this does not happen, and I find myself disappointed with the immediate results, or with the responses of others, I can only think of crawling into a hole. I foolishly tell myself that I have tried again, and that I have failed again.

Yet it was my very expectations that were the problem. Instead of asking whether or not I should care, I should rather be asking how and why I could go about caring. Where is the worth? It is not in the achievement of owning anything, or in the acquisition of praise. These circumstances are completely accidental to the dignity of action.

It would be as if I baked a cake, while then worrying if the Moon still circles the Earth. As my wife likes to say, “What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?”

Life itself is a principle of action, and the life of a rational animal is action ordered by free judgment. The worth in what I can do, whatever it might be, is using all that is within my power to live according to Nature. Have I acted with sincere understanding and love? Then I have acted well, and in doing so I have improved myself, and I have offered others a chance to improve themselves.

Did I get the raise or the promotion? Did I win the affections of the girl? Did I stand before a cheering crowd? None of that ultimately matters.

Did I show a bit of kindness, offer a moment of compassion, or do something caring that no one else would ever notice? Good. That is a beginning. That is the very foundation of a virtuous life. Whether in public or in private, in big things or in little things, the merit of the act is in how it transforms my own soul, and how it reaches out to the souls of others.

Can I do this? Yes, of course I can. No more is asked of me. That is a good day’s work.

Written in 6/2011