Meredith, our contributing editor, was driving home with her then 6-year-old daughter from her swimming lessons. The daughter announced,
“I’m going to take up an extra gymnastic class.”
“But where do you have the time? All your time is booked for other activities already.”
“OK, I will do it on Washangza day then.”
“What is Washangza day?”
“Oh, it is the extra day of the week. It’s the eighth day. And it is the day when you can do all those things that you didn’t have the time for during the regular week.”
We may smile at this, but we all behave like there are going to be Washangza days in our future. For example, we all want to practice Stoicism. When is a good time start practicing Stoicism?
It is not today, of course. Today we are busy, tired, and the day is half over. And what’s the hurry anyway? Maybe we will start tomorrow or next week. Or when the Stoic Week starts. Better still, starting with the New Year.
No matter how busy we are, we know we can manage our time perfectly sometime in the future. We feel that the future will bring us a decent supply of Washangza days.
The idea of an imaginary day when you could accomplish everything you always wanted to but didn’t is endearing in a 6-year-old. In adults, not so much.
We only have today. If we wake up tomorrow, we still have only that day.
Even if you’re going to live three thousand more years, or ten times that, remember … The present is the same for everyone; its loss is the same for everyone.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.14
Today is the only day we have. Today is the only day we can lose. If we need to practice Stoicism, we need to start today. We need to practice today.
We live only in the present, in this fleet-footed moment. The rest is lost and behind us, or ahead of us and may never be found.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 3.10
When we don’t wait for tomorrow or some other time in the future everyday becomes a festival.
....every day becomes a festival - today because you acted well yesterday, tomorrow because you acted well today.
Epictetus, Discourses 4.4, 46-47
MoreWe ne It also means tomorrow won’t be a festival for us if we don’t live well today. Of course, we don’t have to practice Stoicism if we don’t want to. It’s perfectly alright. But if we do want to practice, today is the day to do it. Our wait is over. Today is the day we have been waiting for.
Today is Washangza day.
IF YOU ARE ATTENDING STOICON THIS YEAR
I will be speaking at the following conferences this year:
Stocon X conference in Toronto, Canada on September 8, 2019
Soicon X conference in Athens, Greece on October 6, 2019.
If you are attending either of these conferences, do come and say hello. I would love to meet you. Chuck
Dr. Chuck Chakrapani Editor-in-Chief
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