Immortality - Will I be remembered?

 

Short reading from my Stoic Philosophy blog in which I write under the name of a fictional incarnation of Socrates. This piece is a reminder to focus on being a just and virtuous person in the present rather than focusing on the possibility of posthumous fame. Music excerpt: Mozart's 40th symphony in G minor, Second movement (Andante), performed by the Musopen Symphony For more stoic advice, follow: https://www.facebook.com/Socrates21C/

What are you waiting for?

 

Why do we wait? Our plans, big and small, often get put aside while we wait for a better time. Even simple acts like telling our children, parents, or spouse that we love them seem to be postponed until the time is right. We make excuses and promise that we'll do it tomorrow. Or next week. Or next year. As if we have all the time in the world. But we don't have all the time in the world, do we? Time inevitably slips away, and we find ourselves regretting the missed opportunity. If only I wrote that book. If only I tried that new job. If only I had told them how much I love them.

So, what are you waiting for? Now is the best time, because tomorrow may never come.

Short introduction

 

This is a short introduction from Brent, the writer of this blog.

Plans change. Get used to it.

Plans change! Get used to it.

As organized beings, we love order. We plan trips, dinner dates, and quiet nights in, to read a good book. But unexpected events often get in the way. Perhaps you are called in to work to cover for someone who is unwell, so you postpone your trip. Your friend may have a personal issue, which means you need to cancel your dinner date. Then, as you settle in to your quiet night at home, your family pays a surprise visit. Your plans change again.

Our plans are based on the assumption that the world is predictable. And, indeed it is. Events in nature unfold with a precise regularity. The future can be said to resemble the past. This fact allows us to predict the seasons, the orbits of the planets, and even the positions of the most distant stars. However, the human realm is rather less predictable than the rest of nature. Given the complex interplay between our beliefs, desires, and interpersonal relationships, we should not be surprised that our plans are always subject to change.

So, how should we respond to unexpected changes to our plans? Should we get angry? Should we curse other people? Should we stop making plans altogether? Not at all. We should calmly accept that some events are out of control. Embrace the change. Make new plans, and accept that they too are likely to change.

Amor Fati

We've all had those days where nothing goes according to plan. Perhaps you've arranged a dinner friends. It starts out well, but then you find you've left your wallet at home. So, you turn back. Then you have a flat tire. So you change it. Then you arrive at the restaurant to find that it is closed. 

Is there any point in complaining about these things? Should you curse your car or yell at the restaurant door? Doing so will change nothing, so there is little point in wasting your energy.

We prefer things to be a certain way. But the universe has no obligation to satisfy our preferences. Things happen - bad and good. Of course, we make every attempt to avoid the bad. However, we should remember that much of what happens in the world is beyond our control. We must therefore make the best of what fortune presents us. Amor Fati! Embrace life's challenges. This is how we reach our human potential.

We are judgemental beings. Our nature drives us to form opinions about other people, and then to spread those opinions to anyone who has the time to listen. And there is certainly no shortage of ears, eager to hear the next juicy piece of information. We seem to be addicted to speaking about the affairs of others. 

But often this talk amounts to nothing more than rumor, innuendo, or gossip. This is surely not worthy of our time. So, when offered information about another person, we should first ask: Are you certain that what you want to tell me is true? We should then ask, is your statement going to be good or kind? Finally, we should ask, is it necessary that I know this piece of information?

If the information on offer is neither true, nor kind, or is unnecessary to know, we should tell the purveyor of gossip to please say nothing at all.

Rights vs Duties

One of the big changes we've seen over the last hundred years is the shift from our sense of duty to a push for our individual rights. There was a time at which we asked ourselves: What should I do to make society better? This question has, for many, been replaced with a new question: What should society do to make things better for me? This change in ideology has been particularly evident over the last few years.

Despite this, we still hear the thoughts of past generations echo through the decades. During his Inaugural Address in 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged the people of the United States to contribute to the public good. His famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” encouraged people to work towards making society better for all. 

We might ask ourselves which approach will lead to a more just and flourishing society. If we focus on how our actions can make society better for all people, then we may see improved equity, tolerance, and kindness. If, on the other hand, we focus on our individual rights, and thus make demands on society, we may find an increase in conflict and inequality. This could come as a result of putting one's rights first, above the common good, and above other people's needs. After all, clashes often result from people's rights coming into conflict.

This is not to say that we should abandon our rights. They are, after all, the cornerstone of our sense of freedom and justice. Rather, it is to say that we need to strike a balance and ask ourselves, how can we make the world a better place for all? By focusing on the common good, or focusing on ourselves? The answer may be found in Gandhi's 1947 observation that "all rights to be deserved and preserved came from duty well done. Thus the very right to live accrues to us only when we do the duty of citizenship of the world."

Perhaps in addition to our Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we also need a Universal Declaration of Human Duties.

Loss of control

We like order in our lives. It gives us a sense of control, and thus provides a feeling of security. Unexpected problems, or mistakes, can be extremely unsettling. You may wake up late and find that your alarm clock has malfunctioned. Or perhaps your phone failed to charge overnight. Or maybe someone else is taking an early shower - at the very time you use it every morning. The frustration over such simple events can sometimes be overwhelming and lead us to curse the chaotic nature of the world.

But the world is an ordered, deterministic system. We simply have a limited sphere of control. The complex interweaving of events and interpersonal relationships can give the appearance of chaos simply because we cannot keep track of it all. We must keep in mind that unexpected events will always occur, and that our response to such events should be in proportion to their significance. Your life will not be ruined just because you overslept. You don't necessarily need a fully charged phone. Skip your shower and enjoy the benefit of a little extra time in the morning.

Feeling like we have lost control can be frustrating, but only because we expect to have complete control. Accepting that many things are beyond our control can help temper our response to unexpected events.

It's all temporary

It’s all temporary. The tasks at which we work so hard to complete. The joy and pain of raising our children. The applause we receive for our excellent performances. The heated arguments we have with co-workers. Our successes. Our failures. They're all temporary.

When we feel anxious about day-to-day matters, we should remember that this moment in time will soon be gone. All things come to an end. Humanity; Earth; the Solar System and Milky Way galaxy. These things are all temporary. Even the epoch in which the universe contains stars and planets will one day come to an end.

It is with this in mind that we may be able to perceive daily events in a different light. We have an urge to survive, and we must certainly do our best to correct injustices and live a good life. But viewing all things as temporary may help us recognize more clearly the joy that can be found in small moments that we otherwise might ignore. The smile from a passing stranger. Reading a bedtime story to a child. The warmth of the sun on an upturned face. 

It's all temporary, so take a moment to enjoy the small things. One day they will be gone.

Values opinions

Within institutions there is much talk of values. Companies publish values statements. Churches promote values directly derived from religious texts. And schools construct short definitions of acceptable behavior, which collectively sit under the heading: School Values. But what exactly are these "values"? What is the purpose of a values statement within an organization? 

All societies have laws, many of which we accept as necessary for social cohesion. Occasionally one of those laws is found to be outdated and is modified. Values, on the other hand, seem to sit at a different level. They may be used, perhaps, to generate laws. But they, themselves, are designed to be fixed and unchanging. For example, the Catholic value of the "Sancitiy of Life" will never be abandoned. And it sits at the center of some of our laws. We may not be religious, but we can still accept the value that human life ought to be preserved. Over time, laws are adjusted to suit society's better understanding of itself and what counts as "human life", while still maintaining that life is of the highest value.

Are corporate values the same type of thing? When we see company values listed as: Innovation, The Best People, Customer Commitment, or Personal Accountability, we may find ourselves questioning whether these are universal values or merely opinions about what is good in a certain context. In this way, company values seem to be more like rules that the company values, rather than being values in themselves. If this is true, it is possible that company values may be contrary to true human values - whatever these may be.

We must be careful, therefore, in accepting values statements without analysis. We should ask ourselves where the values came from; what assumptions underpin them; what outcomes they are being used to promote. We may find that some values are not as valuable as they initially sound.