The Philosophy Of Stoicism

Anish Ghimire

There are and were a lot of wise minds in the world. Such minds gave the world not only their wisdom but also the key habits to sustain one’s life. Many such ideas turned into philosophies. And as of today, there are a lot of different philosophies that are designed to help the ordinary, elite, and the outcasts.

 If they have a brain and the ability to choose between right and insanity then philosophies will work on them. Humans must reflect deeply on their way of life. Their path, their desires, their aching, and where the joy is coming and from where is it exiting. If one measures and reflects on their daily activities then corrections on the many vices of life can be made. So, it is vital to get in the shoes of the wise and adopt their many pearls of wisdom. 

Wise Brain

Out of the many shreds of evidence of a wise brain, one shred is the philosophy of stoicism. The philosophers who practice Stoicism are called Stoics. To become a Stoic one should understand profoundly the many vices and virtues of life. Because it is in our daily activities where our fate is written.

 Our future is decided by the process of us spending our present. The one who enjoys the present and puts some artwork into it will be free of anxiety. If one is empty of gratitude and thinks only about the future without any regard for where they are now, then they develop anxiety and sorrow. The work of philosophy is that it erects personality, orders one’s life, regulates one’s conduct, and shows what one should do and what is better left undone. 

The other thing it talks about is the nature of desires. There are two types of desires; natural and unnatural. Natural desires are mostly healthy and they have an end. There is a destination for such desires, meaning they have an end after being fulfilled. And it isn’t manipulated by anyone or any force. On the contrary, there is an unnatural one that leaves a person desperate and wanting for more even after it is just being fulfilled. A human should stay away from such desires.

 Such desires don’t serve a good deal. A desire with no destination is a pointless journey. It is an empty journey without any return. While traveling on the path of false desire, there is something always farther regardless of how many miles one has endured. A desire is healthy if it has the ability to come to an end. Natural desires are limited, but the false ones are infinite. Such desires are to be given up because they make us desperate and hollow. 

Humans when engaging in work are immensely focused on its completion. The same goes for traveling, and as routine, as it sounds, it is still a very relatable saying, that it’s not the destination but the journey that counts. People who find contentment in the process of a work being done have achieved what it means to be fulfilled. Because the journey teaches us a lot more than the actual work completed. A writer derives more pleasure when he is writing and not when he finishes writing. When he is in the zone, in that place where focus gives him pleasure, for that creator nothing is more valuable than his present. A noticeable expression of contentment is seen on his face he derives satisfaction by diving deep into the process of his work. If adopted in such a manner then works in progress are more precious than the work done.

A wise man looks around his milieu and knows he has enough. Even in the absence of luxury, the wise one feels a sense of satisfaction. Having essentials should be enough. By having many things no human has found enlightenment. It is in the exact opposite where one can find the latter. Humans have ever-growing needs. They are infinite. To control such greedy traits is the road to tranquility. Having more and more is having very less. There is no contentment there. Satisfaction and order don’t live in the middle of many materials. When one adopts the habit of less reckless desires and more gratitude towards what they have, there is peace there. There is happiness there. 

There is peace where there is a priority for contentment rather than materialism. To desire more and more is to fall into a loop of no return. Kind of like a trip with no return and no excitement, but further hopelessness and a hole that is never filled. This trait is possessed by many people; by a crowd. Seneca, a stoic philosopher urges his fellow stoics not to put trust in a crowd. He advises one should avoid a mass crowd of people. In such a huge mass, one’s thoughts can be unsettled. 

Self Reflection

There is no time for self-reflection there. Without any reflection, there is no solid judgment and hence no direction to progress. And he says that one should retire onto oneself as much as they can. To retire to oneself mean to reflect, it means to settle the mind, it means to control diluted behavior and be free from suffering. To practice philosophy is to embrace peace and order. They not only regulate one’s life but also gives one a chance to improve their health and perception. It says to look inward and everything will heal itself. 

If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor. If you shape your life according to people’s opinions then you will never be rich. A person’s peace shouldn’t be disrupted by others. People murmur all the time. How we ignore such murmur depends on us. After all, we must learn to outdo ourselves and not others. We are our competitors and no one else. Be better than what you were in the past, let go of the vices which troubled you yesterday, and embrace virtues that help you grow today. Today is the day we learn because tomorrow is far and yesterday we were not wise.    

(Ghimire is a student)