March on... and on...

I spent most of the day out in the countryside. With the dog. The cats did not approve.

Part of the time was walking, part was sitting on a bench in the middle of nowhere researching - as I am going to interview a Stoic tomorrow. This is unpaid work which I love and I thought I could turn a passion into a public service. I want to speak with people who can offer wise counsel, advice and tips to those emotionally affected by the situation, or to those therapists dealing with increased anxiety in their clients.

So, I skimmed through Live Like a Stoic to find some pertinent areas to explore.

Well, there was quite a lot. Firstly, the Stoics - ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, notably Zeno, Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius - were big on determining what is within our control and what is outside it. There's really no point investing energy in the things we cannot control. Like when my normal work will resume. One must focus on what one can control. Like how much I spend on wine and books while I am not earning any money.

Another aspect that struck me as especially wise right now was a very general premise. For the Stoics, wise living relied on three studies, ethics (how to live as a social and rational being), physics (by which they meant reality, the real world situation) and logic (thinking rationally). So, let's make sure, before we make judgments and react to them emotionally, that we know what the truth is. Not what's trending on Twitter. Trump's election and the Brexit referendum were both heavily influenced by 'fake' messages sent out on social media. Let's not fall for the same deceptions. Then let's think rationally about the carefully sourced information we have. And finally let's act in a way that benefits the social good.

The Stoics were not big fans of speaking too much - and especially not of putting in the public domain messages that would harm society as a whole. The media as well as individuals should take note.

Seneca talked about turning difficulties into opportunities. The hardships we experience in our lives, the vast majority of which we can and do overcome, make us stronger. And perhaps, I might add, may shed light on the ways in which the current state of society has made us ill equipped to deal with this kind of crisis. Who knows, maybe we will start to invest in the health service adequately. Or listen next time Bill Gates warns us of a pandemic. Maybe those volunteering to deliver goods to the elderly, if they are asked to stay home, will continue to perform similar actions when times are good.

Marcus Aurelius talks of an 'inner citadel' in which, always, we can find peace. He means in the mind. Meditation, if we can let go of the anxious thoughts, may help. And it would help were we able to take to heart the Stoics' lessons on accepting what we cannot control and so on.

Marcus was Emperor during a time of multiple wars and uprisings - as well as the worst plague to hit the ancient world. The man had a lot on his plate - and history suggests he was a good emperor. So I'm inclined to think that if he, who wasn't temperamentally suited to the role, by his own account, got through by following this practical system of personal development, then, well, it could probably help me.

He recommends turning the mind to two maxims: 'First, things cannot touch the soul but stand without it stationary; tumult can arise only from views within ourselves. Secondly, all things you see, in a moment change and will be no more; think of all the changes in which you have yourself borne part. The world is a moving shift, life a succession of views.' (Meditations, 4.3)

I don't know about you, but I feel a bit better already.

Well, I did until I read today's news.