XXXIII. On Respecting the Power of Your Mind
Philosophy…takes as her aim the state of happiness. That is the direction in which she opens routes and guides us.
“If, at some point in your life, you should come across anything better than justice, honesty, self-control, courage—than a mind satisfied that it has succeeded in enabling you to act rationally, and satisfied to accept what’s beyond its control—if you find anything better than that, embrace it without reservations—it must be an extraordinary thing indeed—and enjoy it to the full.” — Marcus Aurelius
The following Aesop’s fable is known as The Stag Looking into the Pool.
A Stag drinking at a clear pool admired the handsome look of his spreading antlers, but was much displeased at the slim and ungainly appearance of his legs.
“What a glorious pair of branching horns!” said he.
“How gracefully they hang over my forehead! What an agreeable air they give my face! But as for my spindle-shanks of legs, I am heartily ashamed of them.”
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when he saw some huntsmen and a pack of hounds making towards him.
His despised legs soon placed him at a distance from his followers, but, on entering the forest, his horns got entangled at every turn, so that the dogs soon reached him and made an end of him.
“Mistaken fool that I was!” he exclaimed; “had it not been for these wretched horns my legs would have saved my life.”
We trivialize our mind and misuse it to acquire short-term gratification but we end up making a mess of our lives, lose our inner peace ruminating on phantom troubles, chase unworthy goals and we wonder why we’re unhappy.
Granted, it can be hard to make the transition from valuing externals as a source of our happiness to seeing the embodiment and expression of ideals: discipline, justice, wisdom, and courage as enough to give us stable and everlasting pleasure and joy.
These goods are intangible.
The virtues can't fill our stomachs, give us fun company, or make us live lavish in themselves, so why should we value and honor them?
It's hard to envision an existence where we can do without a preferred comfort such as the finest food, declining sex from a beautiful woman, or rejecting the largest sum of money to set us up for life.
Until you see it happen and a person benefited in each of those instances.
It's even harder to function in ways running contrary to what we feel e.g. working while feeling unmotivated, being kind when angry, going to the gym when tired, and loving others even if we're depressed and sad.
Until you see it happen and a person was better for all of it.
We must understand a fundamental truth.
A good life can only happen when we learn to see ourselves as more than physical beings.
That’s when we’ll start getting the ever-satiating nourishment and enjoyment from our spiritual lives and stop hankering over what drives other people insane.
Marcus Aurelius, in Chapter Seven, Book Three of his Meditations, suggests an idea we’d do well to study if we want to live a glorious and fulfilling life.
“If you can privilege your own mind, your guiding spirit and your reverence for its powers, that should keep you clear of dramatics, of wailing and gnashing of teeth.
You won’t need solitude—or a cast of thousands, either.
Above all, you’ll be free of fear and desire.
And how long your body will contain the soul that inhabits it will cause you not a moment’s worry.
If it’s time for you to go, leave willingly—as you would to accomplish anything that can be done with grace and honor.
And concentrate on this, your whole life long: for your mind to be in the right state—the state a rational, civic mind should be in.”
The price for this way of life is that nothing else is on the pedestal of our existence except pursuing and practicing wisdom and prosocial behavior.
And guess what? No one is forcing this on us.
We’re free to look around because Stoicism isn’t a dogma, where there’s a pupil, a teacher, and consequences for not following the rules.
Rather, the philosophy wants us to discuss within ourselves and among others what’s evident and true and come to the conclusion that a rational life is truly what benefits us.
It helps you live a good life and achieve the greatness that is truly yours.
Marcus Aurelius wrote,
If, at some point in your life, you should come across anything better than justice, honesty, self-control, courage—than a mind satisfied that it has succeeded in enabling you to act rationally, and satisfied to accept what’s beyond its control—if you find anything better than that, embrace it without reservations—it must be an extraordinary thing indeed—and enjoy it to the full.
But if nothing presents itself that’s superior to the spirit that lives within—the one that has subordinated individual desires to itself, that discriminates among impressions, that has broken free of physical temptations (as Socrates used to say), and subordinated itself to the gods, and looks out for human beings’ welfare—if you find that there’s nothing more important or valuable than that . . .
. . . then don’t make room for anything but it—for anything that might lead you astray, tempt you off the road, and leave you unable to devote yourself completely to achieving the goodness that is uniquely yours.
It would be wrong for anything to stand between you and attaining goodness—as a rational being and a citizen.
Anything at all: the applause of the crowd, high office, wealth, or self-indulgence.
“All of them might seem to be compatible with it—for a while.
But suddenly they control us and sweep us away.
So make your choice straightforwardly, once and for all, and stick to it. Choose what’s best.
—Best is what benefits me.
As a rational being? Then follow through.
Or just as an animal? Then say so and stand your ground without making a show of it. (Just make sure you’ve done your homework first.)”
The benefit we get from valuing our minds is the freedom to do whatever we want with our lives, unhindered and without anxiety because we value this spiritual life more than anything.
We’re free to actualize our potential and enjoy the fruits of our labor through the seeds of virtuous actions we plant at each moment.
We can afford to be vulnerable and confident because it deepens our relationships.
We can work on what we’re genuinely interested in and invest in what we believe in — what aligns with our values.
But, you might ask: what if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other things?
Marcus Aurelius warns that,