“Yes, getting your wish would have been so nice. But isn’t that exactly why pleasure trips us up? Instead, see if these things might be even nicer — a great soul, freedom, honesty, kindness, saintliness. For there is nothing so pleasing as wisdom itself, when you consider how sure-footed and effortless the works of understanding and knowledge are.”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.9
We think we want what we want. We believe that only that thing will do. Only that event or occurrence will make us happy — expressed love from someone, a new puppy, a new home, a new job, finally completing a project, a concert you’ve been waiting for, recognition among peers.
We have our hearts fixated on that one thing. But when we get that one thing, it feels good for a while, but it doesn’t last. Of course it doesn’t — because events, however pleasurable they may be, are transitory by nature. And as a result, this event wasn’t as fulfilling as we were expecting, and we’re left wanting more. Always wanting more.
What lasts longer, and brings a joy that is deeper and more all-encompassing? “A great soul” does, like it says in the quote from today’s page in The Daily Stoic.
Virtue, the pursuit of truth, personal growth in wisdom and understanding — all of these things bring happiness and pleasure that can’t be matched by the occurrences and events that we think we want.
The immediate pleasures that you think you want are superficial. They don’t satisfy. Virtue runs much deeper, at a foundational level. Happiness comes from a strong soul.
One last point: virtue is within our control. It’s something that we can influence and gain of our own volition. Generally speaking, transitory pleasures that we seek in our physical world are largely outside of our control, and much harder to achieve.
Which one will you seek?
