“How,” you ask, “can this be accomplished?”
By constant effort, and by doing nothing without the approval of reason. And if you are willing to hear her voice, she will say to you:
“Abandon those pursuits which heretofore have caused you to run hither and thither.
“Abandon riches, which are either a danger or a burden to the possessor.
“Abandon the pleasures of the body and of the mind; they only soften and weaken you.
“Abandon your quest for office; it is a swollen, idle, and empty thing, a thing that has no goal, as anxious to see no one outstrip it as to see no one at its heels.
“It is afflicted with envy, and in truth with a twofold envy; and you see how wretched a man’s plight is if he who is the object of envy feels envy also."
By constant effort, and by doing nothing without the approval of reason. And if you are willing to hear her voice, she will say to you:
“Abandon those pursuits which heretofore have caused you to run hither and thither.
“Abandon riches, which are either a danger or a burden to the possessor.
“Abandon the pleasures of the body and of the mind; they only soften and weaken you.
“Abandon your quest for office; it is a swollen, idle, and empty thing, a thing that has no goal, as anxious to see no one outstrip it as to see no one at its heels.
“It is afflicted with envy, and in truth with a twofold envy; and you see how wretched a man’s plight is if he who is the object of envy feels envy also."
—from Seneca, Moral Letters 84
Whenever I seek to learn, I should cast a wide net, and I should then sort through the catch to select what is best. My own attachment to a liberal arts model, which is open to any topic, from every time or place, is not concerned with accumulating more facts, but rather with employing a wide range of experiences to build the habits of understanding, to equip me with the common principles required for making some sense of life’s surprises.
What use will there be in mastering this or that trade, if we are not first prepared in the shared vocation of just being human? I applaud you for wishing to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a banker—now what tools will you employ to distinguish the true from the false, and the right from the wrong, regardless of your job title? This is what binds a man together, whatever his circumstances.
We will gladly spend many years at school in order to earn an advanced degree, and yet we somehow assume that it is beyond our power to rule over our own passions. Or, at the very least, we insist that the challenge of self-mastery demands far too much of us, that a life devoid of diversions must surely be too difficult: “Let the sages seek their enlightenment, but I will settle for the mediocrity of busywork.”
There is no profound secret to escaping from the loop, only a clarity of thinking. What has hindered me from a peace of mind in the past? Fixations on money, on gratification, and on reputation. At first glance, it may seem that Seneca is denying me everything that is fun, though a careful reflection reveals them to be everything that has made me miserable.
When worrying about property becomes a burden instead of a relief, it is time to reassess my values.
When chasing after amusements leaves me empty, it is time to discover a far deeper joy, one joined to my nature.
When putting on an act grows tiresome, it is time to focus on being myself, not what anyone else might wish me to be.
A surefire sign that I have fallen into a trap is when that flashy fellow I so desperately envied turns out to be just as frustrated and unfulfilled as I am. Behind the boasting and the noise, wisdom is one, simple, and pure.
Whenever I seek to learn, I should cast a wide net, and I should then sort through the catch to select what is best. My own attachment to a liberal arts model, which is open to any topic, from every time or place, is not concerned with accumulating more facts, but rather with employing a wide range of experiences to build the habits of understanding, to equip me with the common principles required for making some sense of life’s surprises.
What use will there be in mastering this or that trade, if we are not first prepared in the shared vocation of just being human? I applaud you for wishing to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a banker—now what tools will you employ to distinguish the true from the false, and the right from the wrong, regardless of your job title? This is what binds a man together, whatever his circumstances.
We will gladly spend many years at school in order to earn an advanced degree, and yet we somehow assume that it is beyond our power to rule over our own passions. Or, at the very least, we insist that the challenge of self-mastery demands far too much of us, that a life devoid of diversions must surely be too difficult: “Let the sages seek their enlightenment, but I will settle for the mediocrity of busywork.”
There is no profound secret to escaping from the loop, only a clarity of thinking. What has hindered me from a peace of mind in the past? Fixations on money, on gratification, and on reputation. At first glance, it may seem that Seneca is denying me everything that is fun, though a careful reflection reveals them to be everything that has made me miserable.
When worrying about property becomes a burden instead of a relief, it is time to reassess my values.
When chasing after amusements leaves me empty, it is time to discover a far deeper joy, one joined to my nature.
When putting on an act grows tiresome, it is time to focus on being myself, not what anyone else might wish me to be.
A surefire sign that I have fallen into a trap is when that flashy fellow I so desperately envied turns out to be just as frustrated and unfulfilled as I am. Behind the boasting and the noise, wisdom is one, simple, and pure.
—Reflection written in 12/2013
IMAGE: Rembrandt, The Parable of the Rich Fool (1627)
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