Life is simple until it’s complicated deliberately. Daily experiences can be tough if you let the tiny details you can’t control take over your life.
We can learn a few things from studying the lives of the people who chose to live their lives outside of the grind.
The ancient Greek philosopher and thinker Zeno of Citium (334 BC — 262) observed that life is a series of continuous, instantaneous changes.
He taught that to reach contentment, we must learn how to live in a way that is neither too much nor too little.
We must learn how to adopt natural ease and detachment from worldly complexities so as not to be either overly tense and anxious when things go wrong or overly relaxed when they go right.
He believed there are no permanent or stasis states in the world; everything flows, fluctuates, and changes constantly. “The end may be defined as life in accordance with nature or, in other words, in accordance with our own human nature as well as that of the universe,” quoted by Diogenes Laërtius, in Lives of Eminent Philosophers: ‘Zeno’, 7.87.
Zeno was the first to formalise Stoic philosophy. Stoicism is a school of thought that focuses on acceptance and adaptation to situations and external events in the most positive manner possible while at the same time minimising any negative effects they may have on one’s well-being. Stoicism lays great emphasis on living a virtuous life in accordance with the cycle of nature.
This idea became known as the doctrine of the twofold purpose of life: to live in accordance with nature, or “phusis”; and to achieve happiness, or eudaimonia, which is found only in a state of living per nature.
“All things are parts of one single system, which is called nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with nature,” he said.
Zeno observed change as a constant process that pervades all things: birth and death, growth and decay, advancement and regression.
This principle also underlies what we call progress today — that innate drive to get better at something over time so it can be repeated more effectively.
But what does living in accordance with nature means practically?
“’Human Nature’ refers to the condition of a human who is expressing the very best in his or her development, that is their ultimate ‘best self’. They are growing and changing in an effort to reach the ultimate goal for a human being,” explains Michel Dew, a Stoic scholar.
Life is a process of evolution, adaptation, and growth. By living in agreement with nature, we can experience a feeling of deep connection with everything around us.
Growing into your ultimate ‘best self’ is a process
“Nature does nothing uselessly,” Aristotle said.
Zeno of Citium taught that life is fundamentally about attaining virtue and breaking free from the “complicated life” mentality or the unending life cycle that guarantees no real meaning.
Life is an opportunity to learn and grow. The Stoics believe in ethical goodness, in harmony with nature and its laws. Still, they also think it is necessary to accept our human flaws — our passions and aptitudes — to not be overcome by them.
They believe living under the laws of nature is based on the principle of man as a rational being. To this end, we must establish harmony between our minds and the external world.
The rational part of your mind enables you to understand that which is logical and to recognise how things are in their true form.
The external world provides the Stoic with the means to integrate life with nature. The external world exists for the sake of the internal one. It is not something alien to us or something that stands independently from it. Rather, it is an extension of our being that helps us realise our capabilities and limitations.
External circumstances do not determine our worth as human beings but rather reveal who we really are: individuals capable of growing and reaching our full potential.
In other words, we must adapt ourselves accordingly to thrive: we must use reason to guide our actions, practice self-discipline and self-control, and maintain a balance between our inner needs and outward actions.
“That which exercises reason is more excellent than that which does not exercise reason; there is nothing more excellent than the universe, therefore the universe exercises reason,” says Zeno of Citium.
The key to accessing our natural state lies in our understanding of the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. Everything that happens to us and around us serves a purpose — it may not always be obvious what it is, but there is a reason behind it nonetheless.
From the moment you enter this world until the final moment you exit it, you have a chance to experience a fulfilling existence. The challenge is learning how to achieve that goal while staying grounded in reality.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished,” Lao Tzu observed. So make your way through this brief moment in life in harmony with the natural laws of life.
Reconnecting with our natural and true selves is a process and requires a conscious effort on our part, which means that it demands action instead of simply thinking about what needs to change. Invest in yourself every day to evolve into your happy, calm, peaceful, and best self.
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This post was previously published on Thomas Oppong’s blog.
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