by Jason Ball
You’ll be able to live your life independently of others, in a way that is honest, true and fair.
You see, it’s about breaking away from being so attached to stuff that doesn’t really matter. It’s about refusing to be ruled by time – the past, the future, what’s left on the clock. It’s about living the life you actually have, the one right in front of you.
That’s what will enable you to live the rest of your life without worry, showing kindness to your fellow humans, at peace with the universe.
4. But they said…
Isn’t it strange how people these days are so self-absorbed, loving themselves above everyone else, yet are so quick to value others’ opinions over their own?
What if some all-powerful being commanded them to immediately tweet every last thing that popped into their heads as soon as it appeared (no matter how embarrassing)? They wouldn’t last a day.
Doesn’t this prove that we tend to overvalue what others think of us?
5. Forgetful gods?
If there are gods who are perfect in word and deed, who truly love us, can they have really made the mistake of not allowing those who follow their lessons, who are closest of all of us to the divine, to have some kind of afterlife or another go round?
But whatever, if that’s the way of it then that’s just how it is. It’s the natural way of things.
So if there is no afterlife, that’s how nature intends it. And if you get all uppity about it, you’ll just anger any gods that may exist (and do you really want to go there?).
If the gods are all they’re made out to be, would they have really overlooked something like this?
6. Practice makes OK
Practice the things you are rubbish at, the things you’ll never master.
If you’re a righty, for example, your left hand is probably pretty useless at lots of things. But I bet it’s rather good at spearing at your food with a fork. It’s just a matter of practice.
7. Soul music
Consider how you want your body and mind to be when you die. Think about how short life is and the never-ending nothingness that awaits on the other side. And think about how almost everything is so easily broken.
8. It’s not them, it’s you
Examine the inner causes of things. Strip away all the external fluff and nonsense. Study the core of pain, pleasure, death and fame. Take a moment to realise how you create your own misery – how problems never come from outside but are born of our own opinions and misperceptions.
9. Boxers for the win
When you’re defending your principles, think more like a boxer and less like a sniper. The sniper is forever picking up and putting down their weapon. The boxer is always armed and ready to go.
10. What is that exactly?
Determine what things really are. Split them into what they’re made of, what they do and why they exist.
11. Is your privilege showing?
Man, we are all so privileged. We all have the power to do the right thing and to accept how the world really is.
12. No one’s fault
If you’re a religious sort, don’t blame the gods for how things are. If gods exist, they can’t do anything wrong either on purpose or by accident (or they wouldn’t be gods).
Thing is, you can’t blame other people either because whatever wrongs they do are always by accident (whether in action or thinking).
Best to just forget blame altogether.
13. Take me to your leader
On this planet, only an idiot or an alien should be surprised by anything that happens in life.
14. Storm’s a-coming
It’s possible we’re all doomed by unchanging laws of nature. Or maybe that our prayers and begging are listened to by some kind of higher power. Or maybe it’s all just chaos and madness.
If it’s the first, why bother resisting?
The second? Well, you can try to follow the rules of whatever holy book takes your fancy and hope for the best.
And if it’s chaos? Be thankful that at least you’ve got your mind to steer you forward. If the chaos overwhelms you, only let it overwhelm your body. No matter what, don’t let it wreck your mind.
15. Snuffed out
A candle’s flame will shine just as bright until it’s extinguished. But will you let the truth, wisdom and justice inside you die before you are finally extinguished?
16. Wishful thinking
As soon as you think somebody’s done wrong, ask, ‘Am I certain that this is actually wrong?’ And if it is, how do you know that the person responsible isn’t already beating themselves up over it?
To wish that other people never do anything wrong is like wishing that too much wine will not lead to a fuzzy head come morning or that babies will never cry or that politicians will always stick to the truth.
Ain’t gonna happen.
If they’re that sort of person, they’re going to do that sort of thing. Either chill out about it or try to do something to fix it.
17. Stop it before it starts
If it’s not the right thing to do, don’t. If it’s not the truth, keep your mouth shut.
18. Big then small
Always look at the whole of something. What is it about it that makes such an impression on you? Then break it down into its component parts – its cause, its material make-up, its purpose and how long it’s going to last.
19. Get a grip
Before it’s too late, understand that there is more to you than your kneejerk instincts – something higher, something nobler. Just what is it that’s yanking your chain at this moment – fear, jealousy, lust or something else entirely?
20. Pointless is as pointless does
First, don’t do anything pointless or random without purpose. Second, make sure that anything you do is in some way good for the world as a whole.
21. Making space
Soon enough, you’ll be nothing. In fact, pretty soon everything and everyone you see around you will be nothing too. Everything is destined to change and die, it makes room for whatever comes next.
22. All opinions
Everything around you is nothing more than the result of your opinions about it – and that opinion comes solely from inside you. Choose to be free of it and it’ll be like you’ve just turned a corner out of a raging storm, everything will be calm.
23. Finish at the finish
When you finish any task at the right moment, no harm will come to you or the world around you.
It’s the same with life as a whole. It’ll stop when it stops, there’s no harm to that and it’s not wrong to end it when the time is right. But exactly when is governed by nature – nature that’s eternally renewing everything in the universe. Whatever serves this purpose is fair.
So it makes sense that the end of a life isn’t in any way evil. After all, there’s nothing we can do about it. It certainly isn’t a source of blame or shame.
Actually, in dying, we’re freeing up some atoms to go back into the wider universe, atoms which will become part of something else. So, in some ways, part of us does go on.
24. Three things
There are three things you should keep in mind.
The first is that you should never act randomly, without purpose or unfairly. Remember, everything that happens is either down to chance or is in some way part of a long string of cause and effect. There’s nothing you can do about chance and it’s not like you can sue fate for damages.
The second is to consider what’s at the core of every creature, from the moment it’s born to the second it dies. What’s it made of? What will it dissolve into?
And the third is to imagine you are on the International Space Station looking down on Earth. From this perspective, the whole of people’s ambitions, worries, joys and despairs would all seem pretty trivial. It wouldn’t matter how many times you looked down, you’d basically see the same things, each lasting mere moments. And to think, these are the source of all our pride.
/> 25. Everyone has one
Ditch your opinions and you’ll be free. Who’s stopping you?
26. An antidote to anger
Whenever you lose it, you’re forgetting that everything is subject to the laws of the universe. Others’ bad behaviour is none of your business. It will happen over and over no matter what you do. Always has. Always will.
You’re also forgetting that what really binds all us clever apes together is not blood and family but our shared intelligence. It’s as close to the divine as we get.
Ultimately, nothing really belongs to you. Not your children. Not your body. Not your inner self. Everything comes from the mind.
More than this, everything depends on your opinions and preconceptions. And in the final analysis, the present moment, this right now, is all you have to live or lose.
27. Live fast, die pointlessly
Think about those who’ve lived without limits – those that have done it all: scaled the peaks of fame, plumbed the depths of disaster, surfed the waves of chance.
Where are they now? Smoke, dust, stories.
The examples are legion. Drugged-out actors. Burnt-out executives. Aged rockers chasing one more fix. How pointless are the things people like these chase after.
Surely it’s better to focus on being fair and just, showing self-control, doing the right thing. And doing it all with simplicity and humbleness – because those who are so ‘Look at me, look how good I am’ are the worst of all.
28. Believe your eyes?
To those who ask, ‘Where have you seen this interconnectedness of the universe that you go on about?’ My answer is, ‘I see it about me all the time and anyway, I’ve never laid eyes on my inner self, but I know it’s there and I respect it all the same.’
The power of all manner of unseen forces is at work around us all the time, to me this is obvious and something to be valued.
29. Avoid the cracks
To lead a life full of inner peace, look carefully at everyone around you.
Focus on their core essence, what makes them truly them. What’s in their heart? What are they made of? What’s their purpose?
Put everything into this. See things for what they are. Give your heart and soul to doing what’s fair, speaking the truth and piling one good deed on top of another, over and over – until you can’t see the join between them.
30. Dividing and multiplying
Sunlight is one, singular thing – even when broken up by walls or mountains or any other barrier.
Humanity is one thing too – even when split across a multitude of individual bodies, each with their own, unique qualities.
The mind is also one thing – despite the fact that it can be divided by thoughts.
All the other bits of our bodies are largely indifferent to each other, just cells held together by skin and gravity. But the mind loves the company of other minds, it’s the ultimate attraction that connects all people.
31. Cut to the chase
Why do you want to live so long? Are you craving more sensations? Do you want more stuff? Maybe you want to get bigger muscles or a thinner waist? Or do you want more time to talk and think?
Are any of these things really worth hankering after so much?
If you decide that they’re not worth bothering with, then simply focus on pursuing reason and fairness. But if this is, indeed, the case, you have to remember that it’ll all go belly up if you carry on chasing all these other things.
32. Tiny, tiny, tiny
What a tiny part of eternity each of us gets. Just an instant. A speck of time.
And how little of the world we take up with our bodies or see as we go from place to place.
As you think about this, decide that nothing else is important but to do right by your best self and to deal faithfully with whatever comes your way.
33. On the right track
How are my guiding principles doing? Are they up to the job? Because everything depends on this. Anything else, whether I control it or not, is just dust and ash.
34. Contemptuous death
Nothing will enable you to hold death in contempt quite as much as thinking that even those people who consider pleasure good and pain evil still despise it.
35. Care less
When you decide that whatever is happening right now is all fine and good, when you’re not bothered whether you’ve got lots to do or not very much (as long as it’s all in harmony with reason), then you won’t care whether your time left on this planet is long or short.
36. This is the end
My friend, you have been a citizen of humanity. Whether this has been for five years or fifty, what does it matter?
Whatever is fair for humanity is fair for one and all. So why complain?
You’re not going to be kicked out of humanity by some cruel dictator. When it happens, it’ll be entirely natural. It’s like the actor who’s show is cancelled after a single season by the people who commissioned it in the first place.
That’s just the way of things. You’re just a one-season sort of person.
The decision, ultimately, is not in your hands. So move on with grace in your heart and a smile on your face.
18
And Now The Credits (Otherwise Known As The First Book)
I would just like to thank the Academy for this wonderful award (though as a Stoic, I’m not too bothered either way). However, as I’m here, I want to take a few minutes to mention some people who’ve had a massive impact on my life…
My grandfather Verus taught me to be gentle and not easily angered.
My dad gave me my sense of modesty and manliness.
My mum taught me to be generous and live a simple life. She helped me resist intending any evil to those around me. Thanks Mum.
My great-grandfather gave me my love of learning.
My teacher, among other things, taught me to love hard work, not to go chasing after every fancy that entered my head and to keep my nose out of others’ business.
Diognetus taught me not to get caught up in the trivialities of everyday life. He helped me view the world through sceptical eyes, not easily believing what I see or gambling my future on games of chance. He taught me to not be easily offended by what others say. And he’s the one who turned me on to philosophy.
Rusticus helped me get over myself. He showed me that I didn’t have it all figured out (even when I thought I did) and stopped me from looking like an idiot with every word that came out of my mouth. He helped me speak and write plainly and simply – and to make sure I really understood the facts in detail (not just whatever a thirty-second news bulletin managed to squeeze in). He advised me not to jump on every new fashion or blow my money on flashy outfits. He taught me to be quick to accept an apology and move on. And he introduced me to the work of the philosopher Epictetus, who left a powerful legacy on my life.
Apollonius taught me to take action, not to leave things to chance and never to give up my sense of reason. This gave me an unflappable composure (no matter how tough things got). He brought together both an unassuming character and a passion for what mattered. And he helped me accept the help and gifts of my friends without either feeling in their debt or pretending I didn’t care.
Sextus taught me generosity. He gave me a superb example of someone who’s a great father and who lived a natural life with dignity, who looked out for others and who had enormous patience with fools and chatterboxes. His charm was more powerful than any flattery, and everyone respected him. He was also methodical, able to boil things down to what was important and essential in life and deed. I never saw him get bent out of shape – he was always calm and kind. You knew when he approved without him making it a big thing. And even though he was highly educated, he never made a show of it.
Professor Alexander turned me off from finding faults with everyone and everything. He taught me you shouldn’t jump on every little thing others get wrong – from a mispronounced word to a mistimed tweet. It’s bett
er to demonstrate the right approach by slipping it into something you say (especially if you do this while agreeing with what they’re saying).
Fronto made me realise that anger, underhandedness and deceit rub up closely with absolute power and that those who sit in the upper reaches of society rarely know what’s going on with everyone else.
Alexander the Platonist warned me against saying, ‘I’m too busy’ too often. He taught me to keep it for when it was really necessary and not shirk my responsibilities to work, society and my family.
Catulus taught me never to shrug it off when a friend was angry with me (even if they were being unreasonable) but to try to get back on good terms. He also encouraged me to speak well of my teachers and to be genuine and loving to my kids.
My brother Severus showed me what it means to love family, truth and justice. He introduced me to the works of some of the great thinkers and to the core ideas of how a community relies on equality and freedom of speech. From this, I learned that a nation exists to support the freedom of its citizens.
He also encouraged my love of philosophy (though tempered by treating every thought critically and rationally). He taught me to help others by default, to remain optimistic and to always be confident in the love of my friends. He was always straight with those who angered him (you knew where you stood with Severus).
My self-control, sense of purpose and good humour in the face of all the problems of modern life, I owe to Maximus. He managed to balance both dignity and charm and always got on with things without fuss or drama. He left people with the impression that he always spoke his mind and did the right thing by his conscience. He was never moody, never pretended to be happy when he wasn’t, and he didn’t allow anger or jealousy to cloud his thoughts and drive his actions. He never seemed surprised or scared by events. No one could intimidate or embarrass him either. His charity, loyalty and forgiving nature were simply in his DNA. I can’t imagine that anyone felt either inferior or superior to Maximus. What’s more, he loved a joke.
