by Jason Ball
43. Sink or swim
Time is like a river in full flood. No sooner do you get a grip on what’s happening than it is swept past to be replaced by the next thing, and the next, and the next.
44. It’s only natural
Everything is as natural as spring flowers or summer fruit. This includes sickness, death, lies, office politics and the popularity of cat pics on the internet – everything that delights and everything that brings misery.
45. Cause then effect (repeat)
Whatever occurs always follows on from what happened before. It’s not just a random hodgepodge of events but an orderly sequence of cause and effect. Just as everything that already exists works as part of the whole, everything new takes its place in the great cosmic clockwork too.
46. As Heraclitus put it…
‘When earth dies, water is born. When water expires, air is born. And when air kicks the bucket, we get fire. And on and on.’
He also talked about ‘people who’ve forgotten where their paths are heading’ and about ‘people who are strangers to their constant companion: reason.’
Ultimately, he advises us all to avoid sleepwalking into the future and to refuse to simply act as obedient children just because that’s what others do.
47. What are you doing tomorrow?
Imagine there is a god and they say to you, ‘Tomorrow, you’re going to die. Or if not tomorrow, definitely the day after.’ Will you really make a huge fuss over which it’s to be?
Thing is, in the greater scheme of things, the same applies if we’re talking days, months or years. So treat it all the same and stop worrying.
48. This is a one-way trip
Never forget how many doctors have died – men and women who spent their careers pondering their patients’ illnesses. Or the many futurologists who predicted impending doom. Or all the philosophers who’ve come up with grand theories about life and death. Or the millions of soldiers who’ve killed for whatever cause. Or the politicians who thought up the cause in the first place. In fact, think of all the towns and cities that have been destroyed over the ages.
Then count up all the people you’ve known personally who’ve buried and mourned their friends only to be buried and mourned themselves not so long after.
Existence is quick and dangerous (and nobody makes it out alive). From a tumble in the sheets to a corpse in the coffin, it goes faster than we imagine. So live your life on your terms. And then, when your number is up, go with good grace, ready to return to the pool of atoms that makes up the whole of the universe.
49. Do you feel lucky?
Be like the rock (the stone, not the actor) that stands in the sea, pounded by the waves, yet standing firm.
Now you could get all sulky with a ‘Man, I’m so unlucky’ vibe. But don’t.
Instead, go with, ‘How lucky am I that I can take all this shit and still stand and face it.’ Just think, others may have simply given up. Not you.
And what is luck anyway?
Why do we choose to call this one thing bad luck and this other good luck? If it is just how things turn out in the real world, then luck has nothing to do with it. Does whatever happened stop you from being fair, forgiving, truthful, kind, well-meaning, independent and all those other things that will enable you to live up to your full potential?
So the next time you’re tempted to bitch about your bad luck, think this: Enduring ‘bad luck’ and coming successfully out the other side is actually good luck.
Lucky you.
50. A good innings?
OK, let’s park the whole philosophy thing for a minute.
You’re afraid of dying, I get it. Try this for size: Think of all those old people who staved off the Reaper for longer than most but are now pushing up daisies. Are they better off than those who didn’t manage ‘a good innings’?
Sure, they got a few more years of work. A few more years of hanging out with tolerable people. A few more years encased in a failing body.
Maybe that’s a good thing, but still, they all ended up dead just like everyone else.
When you think about the 13.8 billion years to date and the probable infinity of years to come, there’s not much difference between a centenarian with a weak bladder and a baby that doesn’t make it out of the hospital.
51. Do not pass go
Always take the shortest, simplest route. It’ll free you from unnecessary stress and drama, allowing you to make the right choices and act accordingly.
10
The Fifth Book
‘Don’t wallow in self-pity. Don’t lust after every new fad or gadget. Don’t bitch and whine. Don’t be that person.’
1. Get out of bed!
Can’t get out of bed? Tempted by a duvet day? Tell yourself this: ‘I’m getting up to do my thing. To get shit done. No point being a wimp. It’s time to fulfil my potential and the duvet ain’t helping.’
‘Oh, but it’s so comfy and warm,’ I hear you say.
Really? I’m happy for you. But do you really think your place in the universe is to snuggle duvets rather than embracing all the world has to offer?
Look around you. Look at the sparrows, the ants, the bees, the plants even. They’re not wallowing in oh-dear-poor-me. They’re getting on with it, sparrowing, anting, beeing and planting all over the place.
That’s because they accept that they’re part of the whole interconnected universe around them.
‘But it’s natural to rest too,’ I hear you say (muffled from under the duvet no doubt).
Sure. But we all have a natural rest period just like we have a natural amount of food and drink we need each day. But you’re overdoing it. I bet you’re quick enough to set limits and stick to them when it comes to real work.
Do you hate yourself so much that you’re not willing to be the best you can be?
Find something you love, do it well, do it better every single day. Get this right and it’ll absorb you, pulling you out of bed at first light and dropping you back there with a smile on your face at the end of the day.
Importantly, it’s not about the money. This is about making the world around you a better place.
Get on with it.
2. Peace out
Once you manage to get rid of all the crap in your head, inner peace is child’s play.
3. You be you
If it’s correct, true and fair, you’ve got every right to say or do anything you damn well please.
Ignore what others say, tweet or post about you. If you’re doing the right thing, a bit of criticism doesn’t matter. Others will follow their own consciences. That’s not your problem. Your path and that of the universe around you are one and the same.
4. Until my last day
I’ll carry on doing the right thing until I breathe my last. After that, all the atoms that are part of me will return to the universe that supplied my father’s seed and my mother’s milk. I’ll become part of the same Earth that has fed and watered me, that has put up with my footsteps and endured my abuse.
5. Pull your finger out
So you’re not the sharpest tool in the box, so what? That’s no excuse.
Work on your strengths. Work on the things that you can control: honesty, sincerity, never giving up.
Don’t wallow in self-pity. Don’t lust after every new fad or gadget. Don’t bitch and whine. Don’t be that person.
Can’t you see that everything you’ve got going for you? Can’t you see that you can do so much more with what you’ve got? Don’t hide your talents just because they’re not the ones the media values the highest.
And if you want to work on your weaknesses, then work on them. There’s nothing there that can’t be improved if you’re willing to put in the effort.
6. One, two or three?
There are three types of people in the world. There are those that are quick to loudly demand repayment for every little favour. Then there are those that, while quieter, keep score in their heads and are only
too aware of what they think they’re owed. Finally, there are those who never think about what they’ve done for others, it’s just how their worlds work. In the same way a bee produces honey, they help others. It’s no big thing.
Be that third type.
‘But shouldn’t I get credit for my actions?’ you say. ‘Isn’t that the rational thing to do?’
You’re not getting it. You’re just jumping into bed with the first two.
If you really get my meaning, you’ll never have to worry about failing to do the right thing just because you’re too busy looking for a reward.
7. Thou art talking bollocks
‘Hey Zeus, how about a bit of rain?’ If we’re going to pray, let’s keep it simple. No god is going to be impressed by your Shakespeare impression.
8. A tough pill to swallow?
So your doctor tells you to stay hydrated and prescribes a course of antibiotics. Fair enough. Of course, flip this round and we could say nature has prescribed some disease, disfigurement or disability. The former prescription is about making you better, the latter about fulfilling your destiny.
Think of it like a fine stone wall, all the blocks fitting neatly together to make something whole and solid. It’s the result of a series of events fitting together just so to deliver a certain outcome.
We might say, ‘So-and-so had it coming’ and yes, they did. Just as we accept our doctor’s prescription (even if the medicine tastes foul), we should also accept what the world serves up. It’s just part of the way of things.
In fact, there are two reasons why you should chill out about what happens to you. The first is that it is the inevitable result of a whole series of events seen and unseen that was always going to end at precisely this point in time. The second is that these events are part of the universe, and to change what’s happened to date is to break the whole (good luck with that).
So quit bitching about it.
9. You’re going to screw up
OK, so you’re trying to follow the whole Stoicism thing. Great, but every now and then you’re going to fall short (or even royally fuck it up).
Relax.
Simply go back to the core ideas, use reason as your guide and realise that most of your actions are those of a good person. If you love the ideas, don’t slink back like a naughty child who’s been told off. Return with a spring in your step like you’re being reunited with an old friend.
Don’t make some huge song and dance about it. At the end of the day, this is a philosophy that’s about you gaining the inner peace of someone who follows their best nature.
Now you might say, ‘Cool, so it’s all about what makes me happy.’
Well, yes, but watch out. There are a whole bunch of things that can make you happy on the surface, but you have to ask yourself, wouldn’t real happiness come from being free, kind, open and honest? Wouldn’t you be happier knowing what to do in any given situation?
10. Fake news
Can you ever really know anything for sure?
It seems we live in an age of fake-everything. Whatever you hear one week, is ‘disproved’ the next.
But back in the real world, aren’t we all fallible? Our experiences are fleeting, and there’s no end of scammers and conmen who are keen to pray on us. Ever those closest to us can become a bit of a pain. (In truth, who hasn’t tired of their own ridiculousness from time to time?)
With all this sound and fury, who should any of us pay attention to?
Surely it’s better to simply wait for our inevitable end without getting bent out of shape. In doing so, consider two thoughts. The first is that things will happen as they happen (with very little influence from any of us). The second is that, if we so choose, there is no power on Earth that can make us act against our personal truths.
11. What’s your head up to?
‘What’s my mind up to – right here, right now?’
It’s a good question. One you should ask regularly.
Who’s really in control? A child? A tyrant? Some animal driven solely by instinct?
Who?
12. Leading the good life
When we talk about ‘goods’ what do we really mean?
These days, all too often we mean stuff – things that are bought and sold. The kind of stuff that, when we overindulge, leads to the old phrase ‘too much of a good thing.’
But if you think about ‘goods’ in terms of wisdom, courage, justice, doing the right thing, then having too much of a good thing won’t mean anything.
13. All just atoms
When it comes down to it, we’re all just made up of atoms. None of these will vanish when we’re dead (just as none of them magically appeared out of nowhere when we were born). They’ll simply be reused (upcycled even) into something else, and something else after that, on and on until the end of time.
It was the same for our parents, and theirs before them. It’s just the way things are.
14. Direct to the point
Reason will simply do its own thing. It’s got its own rules and ways. Once it gets going, you need to stand back and let it get on with it.
That’s why we think of the right course of action as ‘direct’ – it’s straight to the point and directs what we should do next.
15. Back to the core
Nothing can ever really belong to you that’s not core to your human nature. Nobody should expect anything else from you or claim anything else as your ultimate purpose in life.
If any of this external stuff was really core to who you are, you wouldn’t be strengthened by doing without it. Whereas, in reality, the more you can do without all that fluff and nonsense, the better you’ll feel.
16. Think better thoughts
Your mind is coloured by the kind of thoughts it has.
So try to give it the right kind of thoughts to work with. Such as, ‘It’s always possible to live right’ – no matter if you live in a palace or out on the street.
Or how about, ‘Things tend to evolve to be suited to their ultimate purpose’? As humans, we’ve evolved as social animals. Living together in harmony is a big part of what we’re about.
17. This is nuts
To want the impossible is madness – yet many people can’t seem to do anything else.
18. Stupidity vs wisdom
Nothing will happen that you can’t handle.
You see others face the same problems as you and, either because they’re clueless or simply want to avoid embarrassment, they don’t let it get to them.
Surely you’re not going to let their ignorance outperform your wisdom?
19. Don’t let it get to you
Whatever shit’s going down in the world, it can’t truly get inside, affect or move the mind. That’s down to the mind itself. Ultimately, it’s the mind alone that judges the importance of what happens around it.
20. What obstacle?
We all want to play nice with others, be kind, show a bit of patience. But when those same others try to stop us doing what’s right, they become as indifferent to us as a breath of wind.
Of course, sometimes other people will stop you physically from doing something or other. But they can’t stop your mind. They can’t impede your will. That’s because your mind can get past any obstruction.
More than this, your mind can turn obstacles into objectives and use barriers as battering rams.
21. ’Nuf respect
Respect the forces that drive the universe. But know that those forces are within you too. You are part of the same whole.
22. Don’t lose it
If something doesn’t harm society, it can’t harm the individual.
So if you think you’ve been wronged, tell yourself, ‘If the community around me isn’t harmed, neither am I.’
But what if those around you are harmed? Don’t get angry at the culprit. Instead, help them understand where they got it so wrong.
23. Paddling in the river of life
Think about how often th
e stuff around you comes and goes in the blink of an eye. The great river of life is always flowing, always changing – nothing stands still. It flows from the infinity that lies behind us to the eternity that lies ahead.
When you think of it like that, it seems pretty silly to worry and rage. It’ll all be over soon anyway.
24. We’re all nothing
Add up all the time that’s ever been, all 13.8 billion years or so. Now work out your share of it. If you live to be 96 years old, it’ll be just 0.0000007%. Pretty much nothing.
25. Isn’t that their problem?
So, someone is an arsehole to me. So what? That’s their problem, not mine. I’ll just carry on doing my thing.
26. Sins of the flesh
Don’t let your body ambush your mind. Pain, pleasure, lust, whatever. Keep them separate.
Of course, this is easier said than done. But when your mind does engage with the flesh, accept what’s happening without getting all judgemental about it.
27. One
Be at one with the universe. How? Be at peace with who you are, be true to yourself, glory in your mind and reason.
28. Silent but deadly
Someone farts in an elevator, so what? Have you never let one go?
‘Hold on,’ you say, ‘surely they knew that it’d be offensive.’
Well aren’t you clever? And since you’re so smart, why not use your smarts to explain their error to them. But do so without getting all worked up about it, that’s for another kind of arsehole.
29. Check-out time?
It’s altogether possible to live on Earth as you’d like to in any imagined heaven. If others won’t allow it, you are perfectly free to take the shortcut and quit this whole living thing altogether. No problem.
