Stoicism
Yes, I am a fan of classic Stoicism as I find big parallels to Mindfulness, Yogic Philosophy, and Mental Fitness (PQ). People may assume Stoicism is about repression or about denying yourself feelings, but that is not so. It is about observing what is so that we can rationally and objectively treat the world - just like in Mindfulness.
Marcus Aurelius was given a Stoic education in his youth, and he wrote extensive notes to himself based on this philosophy. The Roman Emperor practiced what he preached to such an extent that he is widely regarded as the best example of a stoic philosopher king.
Since I am on my way to Italy right now, I thought I will dig out some wisdom of the Roman Emperor. Maybe I will have chance to walk some of his paths in Sicily. Apparently, Sicily even precedes Italy, The kingdom of Sicily existed a tiny 700 years before the kingdom of Italy. As long as I get a good pasta a la Norma and Canolli , I will be content! It will be a change from the “Broetchen” (bread rolls), “Bratkartoffeln” (fried potatoes) and white asparagus I have been enjoying here in Germany with my mum. The people may be very different, too!
Back to stoicm: In his book Meditations, Aurelius writes a series of notes to himself designed to remind himself of key stoic teachings that may come in handy when trying to rule the world. In case you might be up for ruling your own world, you might want to take a look at what Aurelius had to say. His writing is not necessarily succinct, so you may want to treat it mindfully:
Book 2, Vers 1 The Meditations. By Marcus Aurelius. Written 167 A.C.E. Translated by George Long
"Begin the morning by saying to thyself,
I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.
All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
But I who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly,
and the nature of him who does wrong, that it is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed,
but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity,
I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly,
nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him,
For we are made for co-operation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth.
To act against one another then is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away."
What I love about the above is the acknowledgment that there will be ungrateful busy-bodies in our lives, or grumpy people at the bus stop. When we are expecting them, they do not need to derail us. That is just how life is, like it or not. Life is not fair, either. That is one of life's universal truths. With that kind of mindset, nothing can shock us, especially not our own feeling - we can get back to be the ruler of our own world. We can meet the feelings with a "a there you are".
My invitation to you:
Take three calm beaths
In the morning, expect to meet people and feelings of all sorts today. Take them as they are - they did not come to haunt you, they just are...
With courage to feel my feelings and expect the world to be as it is.
Mel
