“So in the majority of other things, we address circumstances not in accordance with the right assumptions, but mostly by following wretched habit. Since all that I’ve said is the case, the person in training must seek to rise above, so as to stop seeking out pleasure and steering away from pain; to stop clinging to living and abhorring death; and in the case of property and money, to stop valuing receiving over giving.”
MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 6.25.5-11
We mostly do things a certain way because we’ve always done them that way. It’s just a ‘wretched habit’, and it’s generally borne out of fear of discomfort, and wanting to cling to things that aren’t really ours anyway.
We need to try harder than that, says today’s chapter in The Daily Stoic. We have to ‘rise above’, and stop avoiding perceived discomfort and pain, and be brave instead. That’s how we challenge our habits and break out of crystallized modes of thinking and acting, which perhaps aren’t suited to the circumstances at hand.
In a way, we have to surrender if we want to be happy. We have to give up our almost mindless routines of seeking pleasure and avoidance of anything even remotely resembling difficulty or pain — and instead must accept that things will happen as they’re meant to happen, and that we can’t avoid all pain. We can remember that pain and difficulty are often indicators that we are growing, and that that can lead to true happiness.
‘Clinging to living and abhorring death’ is another example of a default and habitual mode of thinking which is greatly restricting. It’s a primal and visceral fear that doesn’t always help us. Obsessing over the end of your life causes you to make decisions based out of fear — and miss out on opportunities that might have enriched you. Challenge that habit! Break free.
Finally, Musonius tells us to ‘stop valuing receiving over giving’. That’s something that I’ll take to heart as something I need to work on, because it’s very easy to defer to this habit of always trying to gain more money and possessions, as a sort of automatic behavior. But I need to be brave, and focus on giving instead. I’m no puppet to the forces trying to manipulate my thinking — I will challenge my habit of how I think about property and money. I will counteract my wretched habits with good ones.
That’s my take on this quote from today’s page in the book. Hope you liked it!
