One of the reasons why I like to study Stoicism is that its practitioners come from vastly different backgrounds. Slaves, businessmen, artists, soldiers, and even rulers, like the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. This demonstrates that Stoicism is a practical philosophy, something that can be applied in life regardless of circumstances. This philosophy is not just for pondering ideas, it touches on the common aspects of humanity.
And what could be the greatest common ground for all of us, regardless of wealth, social standing, or fame, other than the reality of death. No one comes out of this earth alive. Death comes to us all; it is unfortunate that we don’t think about it as often as we should have.
Marcus Aurelius is no stranger to death. Many of his children, even his wife, died before him. During his reign, Rome was struck with both war and the plague. Death surrounded him, even as he wrote his Meditations in war camps.
He had all the reason to fear death due to constant threats of war, disease, and even treachery. With most of his family dead, he could easily just fall into anguish or even despise death. But he did not. In contrast, he accepted it as a natural part of life, and even expressed gratitude for it.
Pass then through this little space of time comfortably to nature, and end thy journey in content. Just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
What could have made a person think like this? Death can be bloody and painful, but he compares it to something serene like an olive falling off the tree.
Pass then through this little space of time
The word pass through illustrates a temporal event. It is defined as to go through a place or state without stopping or staying long. Our lives may feel long for us individually, but it is nothing but a blip compared to the life of the earth. Compared to the vastness of the universe, our existence is insignificant. Yet how often do we act like we will live forever, or that our lives have more meaning than it should? We are but travelers in time and space, our existence extinguished as fast as it was formed.
Alan Watts said that “You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself“. Even though we are but a speck in the grand scheme of things, you are still part of the universe. And as a child of the universe, you have a right to be here (from Desiderata).
Comfortably to nature, and end in content
Filmmaker Kevin Smith once told a haunting story. He called his father a “good guy”, someone who played by the rules and did what he is supposed to by society. But on his deathbed, his brother said that his father died screaming. This moment changed Kevin’s outlook in life. It meant that we should strive to do the things we are meant to do in this world while we still can.
Would I scream as well? Do I have so many regrets in life that I will try to claw my way out when nature calls me back?
Marcus Aurelius writes that we should be comfortable with the reality of death, and content when it finally comes to us. Imagining ourselves leaving life on earth feels sad and unfortunate. We will no longer be able to experience the joys and the pleasures in life. That we will miss important events, advances in technology, and what will happen to our descendants. But we also miss the fact that we will no longer feel pain, suffering, and hardships.
The Stoics said that no pain is unbearable. If you can live through pain, then it is bearable. If the pain is too much, then you will cease to exist, and not feel it at all. We seem to regret the things that we miss when we die, but didn’t we miss a whole lot more when we were not even born yet? Did you feel the same regret or sadness before you existed?
Blessing nature, thanking the tree
The Stoics embrace the concept of Amor Fati, or the love of our fate. The belief that the universe is governed by divine wisdom, the Logos, and that all of us are an integral part of it enables us to not just accept whatever may happen, but to appreciate it. Events are not inherently good nor bad, it is our interpretations of those events that cause us to be happy or sad.
Death is a natural consequence of life. Just as we came into being using elements that were not originally ours, death is just a process of returning those elements to the universe.
Cleanthes introduced a powerful Stoic concept of a dog that is tied to a cart. We are the dog, and the cart is fate. If the dog tries to go against the cart, it will just hurt itself as it is being dragged along. By accepting the reality of being tied to the cart, the journey can still be spontaneous. Accepting reality and our fate does not exempt us from suffering, but it is a much better option than being dragged along by life. And we should also accept that this journey also has an end.
As the cart stops and our chains are unbound, let us bless our Creator, our parents, and our family and friends. But more importantly, let us be grateful that we were given the chance to take this journey in the first place.
Photo by Flor Saurina on Unsplash