How to Meet the Morning

At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for - the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?

-Marcus Aurelius

I am a fan of warm blankets. Place a cup of coffee nearby and a good book in my hand and I will stay cozy as long as possible. Of course, I can't do that 24/7 without my life unraveling. So, like Marcus, I have to get up and face the day. I shouldn't complain about this, that wouldn't be very stoic after all. But how am I to prepare my mind for the day ahead? Well, thankfully we Stoics have a means of warming up our mental engines. It's a form of early morning reflection called premeditation.

The longer form name is the premeditation of evil but I had just mentioned cozy blankets and didn't want to shock your system. I think premeditation of ills is actually more fitting, but now I'm on a tangent. Premeditation is the act of mentally rehearsing the potential difficulties of the future so that you are better prepared when they actually arrive. We Stoics can take premeditation pretty far. We will mediate on the loss of loved ones, for instance. But let's start our day a bit less intensly with a general reflection that Aurelius used himself.

Begin each day by telling yourself : Today I will be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness--all of them due to the offenders' ignorance of what is good and what is evil.

This premeditation is a way to orient your mind towards the realities of the day. When you step out into the world, you can simply recognize that no one has the exact same agenda as you. I find it helpful to mentally recite the quote a few times, in the stillness after waking. Premeditation is an exercise, effort is required to adjust your thinking. It's way too easy to assume you're going to approach the morning stoically and then get instantly upset at morning traffic (which is never a stoic response).

Now, I don't want anyone to think that the premeditation is asking you to intentionally start your day off on the wrong foot. I can see how Marcus' quote could be viewed as, "there's a bunch of jerks out there, be ready for them," and, yes...it kind of does say that. But first, let me point out that all the things mentioned, ingratitude, disloyalty, selfishness, etc...are considered non-stoic. So you certainly can't justify treating an ungrateful person ungratefully yourself. Second, Stoics are always quick to point out that bad actions come from bad thinking or, as Marcus puts it, "ignorance of what is good and evil." We're expected to soften our stance towards people who act poorly because we'd do the same with the same information and point of view. What I'm saying is, we do not prepare for the day in order to steel ourselves against the world. If your stoicism is walling you off, you're doing it wrong! Instead, we're preparing ourselves to embrace the world as it truly is, so that we can act meaningfully within it.

The general premeditation is a simple but potent morning routine. If you want to switch up the subject matter, you can always use Seneca's version (I'll end with it) or develop your own. Just remember that the point is to prepare yourself to live the day well. Recognize that unfortunate events will occur, then decide that you can accept them and respond artfully. By having a good morning, you can have a good afternoon, until it's time to say good night. Night time is a whole different article though, so I'll leave you with Seneca's premeditation on change. No matter when this finds you, have a great morning!

The wise will start each day with the thought, "Fortune gives us nothing which we can really own." Nothing, whether public or private, is stable; the destines of men, no less than those of cities, are in a whirl. Whatever structure has been reared by a long sequence of years, at the cost of great toil and through the great kindness of the gods, is scattered and dispersed in a single day. No, he who has said ‘a day’ has granted too long a postponement to swift misfortune; an hour, an instant of time, suffices for the overthrow of empires. How often have cities in Asia, how often in Achaia, been laid low by a single shock of earthquake? How many towns in Syria, how many in Macedonia, have been swallowed up? How often has this kind of devastation laid Cyprus in ruins? We live in the middle of things which have all been destined to die. Mortal have you been born, to mortals you have given birth. Reckon on everything, expect everything.

-Seneca

Death is for Me

People are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things. Death, for instance, is not terrible, else it would have appeared so to Socrates. But the terror consists in our notion of death that it is terrible. When therefore we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves; that is, to our own principles... -Enchiridion Ch 5

Stoics view mortality as a natural and fundamental aspect of life. We exist in an ever-changing universe. Therefore, much of stoic practice is meant to instill a consistent recognition of the impermanence of every aspect of life. Now, if you live in a culture that hides death away, be prepared for the backlash. As more Stoics become vocal about our philosophy, there will definitely be criticism concerning our views. And let's face it, the concept of death tends to strike at nerves.  

Caitlin Doughty, mortician and talented blogger, posted about her experiences with criticism in Death is for Everyone (a bit of a rant, really) . She is not a stoic, to my knowledge, but she is at the forefront of a movement to bring death back into our lived experience. As she reminds us, "Death is not a fad. Talking about mortality is not a trend piece like artisanal pickles or hand-carved charcuterie boards. It’s not something that “hipsters” are doing now. It is the fundamental core of the human experience." I enjoyed her post, and recommend it to you.

And just in case you hadn't stumbled across Stoicism's position on death yet, here's one more quote. 

Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death, and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet anything. -Echiridion Ch 21

I'm going to say that if a stoic teacher is advising daily visualizations concerning death, you have to view mortality as pretty central to the Stoic mindset. Now, Epictetus is not instructing us to be morose. On the contrary, death only "appears terrible." The goal is a daily recognition that death is neither terrible nor good, it is simply a fact. That fact, however, is a powerful one and can shape our decisions concerning what truly matters in this mortal life.  

So as we go around accepting Death, remember that we are the healthy ones. Living in accord with the world's terms is wise. So go forth, be mortal, and memento mori!

Stoic Saturday: You Get What You Pay For

Is anyone preferred before you at an entertainment, or in a compliment, or in being admitted to a consultation? If these things are good, you ought to be glad that he has gotten them; and if they are evil, don't be grieved that you have not gotten them. And remember that you cannot, without using the same means [which others do] to acquire things not in our own control, expect to be thought worthy of an equal share of them. For how can he who does not frequent the door of any [great] man, does not attend him, does not praise him, have an equal share with him who does? You are unjust, then, and insatiable, if you are unwilling to pay the price for which these things are sold, and would have them for nothing. 

Epictetus' Handbook Ch 25

I was in line to order food a few days ago when I saw a man ahead of me let two friends into the already long queue. This annoyed the patrons around me, though no one said anything directly to the culprits. I wasn't thrown off, partly because of stoicism and partly due to the fact that the first guy could have just ordered for the other two and the situation would have been the same, or so I thought. When the three amigos made it to the front of the line; one, they each paid separately, and two, the new additions weren't even ready to order! So they wasted our time by splitting up and compounded it by being under-prepared. Jerks*, right? Absolutely. They were selfish jerks, but I didn't have to be one too.

If you want the perks that come to line cutting jerks, you have to be a line cutting jerk. That's the deal. What's more, my fellow patrons choose to pay a price by acting affronted by the actions of others. Even though I'm casually tossing around the term jerk, I honestly wasn't invested in the situation. I was enjoying the evening and I continued to enjoy it after the fact. 

Stoicism is an, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," type of philosophy. We're not supposed to build up expectations concerning the world. Instead, we expect things from ourselves. We attempt to take in the world as it presents itself and do our best with what comes our way. As such people, you'd think Stoics wouldn't need the scolding that Epictetus lays out. But no, we do. Here's the last half of the chapter: 

For how much is lettuce sold? Fifty cents, for instance. If another, then, paying fifty cents, takes the lettuce, and you, not paying it, go without them, don't imagine that he has gained any advantage over you. For as he has the lettuce, so you have the fifty cents which you did not give. So, in the present case, you have not been invited to such a person's entertainment, because you have not paid him the price for which a supper is sold. It is sold for praise; it is sold for attendance. Give him then the value, if it is for your advantage. But if you would, at the same time, not pay the one and yet receive the other, you are insatiable, and a blockhead. Have you nothing, then, instead of the supper? Yes, indeed, you have: the not praising him, whom you don't like to praise; the not bearing with his behavior at coming in.

First, I love that the translator uses "blockhead." Man, I hope that's close to the original word in Greek. Anyway, you can see that the students Epictetus addresses are expecting certain things from the world. What's more, these expectations aren't even based in cause and effect. Some Stoic kid is saying no to his pal Galen's free gladiatorial fight tickets because attending would be un-stoic and then that kid feels slighted because Galen didn't invite him to a killer birthday bash. Blockhead!

The example Epictetus uses is a step beyond my line-cutter scenario. While I was in line under the "protection" of queuing convention, I might be excused for expecting people to honor those rules. However, if I want to win a game, but I'm not even playing it, I am truly acting ridiculously. Worse yet, I'm standing around acting like I lost something when I haven't. I've kept the time and energy I would have expended playing the game.

Life confronts us with a series of trade-offs. It's important to go forward knowing where you are trying to go. If I want to stay content, I have to give up my right to indignation. If I want to stand apart from some particular crowd, I can't complain when I don't receive their attention. I have to recognize what I already have in the moment and decide if it's worth trading away. If Stoicism is making an impact, I'll find that consumer goods, social standing, or honorifics, become less and less valuable. I'll seek, instead, the contentment found in a well lived life. The things that truly lead to the good life can't be taken away from me, so they're a sound investment.

 *Jerk is not actually a category of human being in Stoic philosophy unless, I suppose, I were to apply it to my own behavior. Still, it can be fun to call someone that from time to time. What can I say, I'm not a sage.