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Stoicism is the resilience to the fortunes and misfortunes of life, to be prepared for any eventuality that can confront us, with the philosophy “Do what you must ,let happen what may”.
Stoicism is the wisdom that comes with living and best understood by those who have weathered battles, known losses and faced rejection, humiliation and tragedy.
In adversity lies strength and growth as the stoic philosopher Seneca says no tree becomes rooted
and sturdy unless many a wind assaults it Stoicism offers a handrail in tough times and lights the way forward.
Stoics are by no means pessimists. They are practical philosophers who believe that everything happens for a reason born out of a rational order that puts everything in place. The stoic not only sees his glass half full but is happy he has a glass at all. Epictetus the Roman slave turned philosopher’s teachings say” some things are up to us some things are not” and this expresses the essence of stoicism.
While the message is clear we are living in tumultuous times that tell us we are in control of our destiny and the sky is the limit. However most things we think are under our control are not whether fame or wealth but subject to vagaries of circumstance.
Life offers no guarantee of success or longevity but we command what matters –our opinions, impulses, attitudes, desires, aversions , the power to master our interior world .Instant , spontaneous negative reactions should not metastasise into full blown emotions .
Epictetus says to place our happiness at the disposal of others allowing them to colonise our minds, is self imposed bondage, a ceding of our sovereignty.
The universe follows a script not written by us. But we must embrace roles given to us ,as we are but agents of divine providence, we must enjoy our journey with the will given to us but the journey’s end rests elsewhere. InshaAllah – fate permitting -- is the stoic reserve clause. Our emotions are a product of rational thought but it is flawed thought, we can change the way we feel by changing the way we think.
The stoic aims not to feel nothing but to feel correctly and above all accept what is inevitable.
Dr Reinhold Niebuhr the American theologian says in his” Serenity Prayer “, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”