“I’ll never be ashamed to quote a bad writer with a good saying.”
SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 11.8
The main point of today’s page in The Daily Stoic is that we shouldn’t refuse wisdom when it comes from unusual sources. Wisdom can come from anywhere, and that’s ok.
Don’t worry or be overly concerned about the source — if it’s true, it’s true. And that’s all that should matter, not who the writer was, or who originally came up with the concept.
It’s likewise unimportant what ‘school of thought’ it came from. If it’s the truth, then who cares what doctrine or ideology it came from. No source has a monopoly on truth.
Ask yourself this instead: does it help guide you, and show you the right path? Does it instruct you in the right and good way to live? That’s all that matters, because wisdom can come from the unlikeliest of sources!
Wisdom from religion
I grew up in a religious family, but I left that behind quite a long time ago. I stay away from organized religion these days, and my aversion is quite strong. I’ll keep those reasons to myself so I don’t offend anyone.
As my young children grow, I’ve told them they’re free to believe what they want, but I do share my thoughts. I guess you could say I don’t necessarily encourage them to explore organized religion too much. I can’t hide how I feel about it, and it’s best that they know my true feelings there, and what I consider to be truth in life.
But over time, I’ve come to realize that regardless of my personal hangups, there is still profound truth to be found in religion.
Regardless of how you or I feel about Christianity in general, if you look simply at Jesus’ actual words, they’re truth! Most of the time, his actual words are impossible to disagree with, and they’re profound truths about life and relationships with other people. And I’m okay with that now. I tell my kids about the universal truths that Jesus stood for, and I do that without concern or hesitation.
Same thing with Buddhism or Islam, or any other religion. Even though I’m not a fan overall, there is wisdom to be gained, and sometimes it comes from unlikely or unexpected sources. And we have to be okay with that, because truth does not care where it came from.
