“Holding to our true aspirations no matter what is going on around us is an endeavour that naturally arises from courage, moderation, justice, and wisdom.”

The winter of the soul

I get lost sometimes. I lose my philosophical footing. Perhaps you do too. Most of the time life is an expansive adventure. However, particularly as the days grow short and dark with winter’s approach, my soul sometimes becomes more fragile, less resilient. The events of life can seem overwhelming. Call it depression, anxiety, sadness, grief. It’s each of those words and all of them. Mental malaise is so widespread and still commonly concealed from others, because we don’t want to appear weak.

The dark times are when my otherwise mostly intellectual interest in philosophy changes direction. Philosophy becomes imperative and intensely personal. Save the cleverness for another time; medicine is what I’m after. Give me the strong stuff. Fortunately, I reliably find it reading Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca. As the seasonal light fades I peruse my favourite sages differently: with longing, even at times desperation. This hunger makes me all the more receptive to their wisdom.

When in doubt, it’s time to return to the virtuous life

These three great teachers chorus the same message: When in doubt, it’s time to return to the virtuous life. Again, again, and again. Underneath all the noise – internal and external – this is what we need to remember when our soul suffers at any time of year.

What does a return to the virtuous life look like? It doesn’t necessarily look jolly, glamourous, or heroic. But it’s what we need; it’s our true north. It’s just doing the next right thing. Doing one’s duty. Showing up. Giving one’s best. Keeping one’s word. Acting with honour. One foot in front of the other.

When we are stymied virtue is always there as a lodestar. Doing the next right thing, however modest, is always available. The effort to do good is itself a tonic. It brings order to chaos, sense to senselessness, purpose to a disorganized mind. Soon enough momentum builds.

One good thing to pierce the darkness

During the dark times, if I am floundering, I think “what is one good thing I could do that would make a positive difference for myself, for another person, for the world?” It could be a very small act. But I do it, and, lo and behold, a little light pierces the darkness. Goodness multiplies forming an incipient narrative through line. Chaos begins to recede. Order ascends. Meaningfulness prevails.

Seneca teaches the basic principle of mental hygiene that if we don’t control our imaginations and our emotional responses to what happens to us, we will perilously drift. Our emotions can take command of the helm and draw us toward distorted and unhealthy conclusions or inertia. What commands our attention becomes our very life. The mind must be disciplined.

Life should not be a to-do list

Seneca says “Virtue depends partly on training and partly on practice. You must learn first, and then strengthen what you’ve learned by practice.” It is easy, and all too common to ramble through life in a daze, just checking items off on an endless to-do list. Seneca reminds us that we must have goals and those goals need to be embedded within a higher pursuit of virtue. We are, after all, meaning-seeking beings. What matters, always, is the development of our character.

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Sharon Lebell is the author of The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, the first modern interpretation of Epictetus’ teachings. She tweets @SharonLebell.

 

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