In this article we will reflect on change and death in relation to Stoic thought. Learning to accept change and death can help us to acknowledge the present and attain true happiness.
People often experience stress when a big change threatens to influence or change their lives. There are endless opportunities for change, and we can all react differently to the same event. It is our subjective perspective and impressions that impact the ways we view change. A change viewed from above, or objectively, is only a transformation from one thing to another. Using this viewpoint turns otherwise emotional events into something indifferent and devoid of meaning.
In Stoic philosophy, the concepts of change and death are thought of as a purely natural phenomena. Change is perceived as one of the key principles of the universe. Everything changes with every passing second and there is nothing that is eternal or immune to change. With that in mind, we must ask how the knowledge of change can influence our lives; that is, can we improve ourselves just by pondering about change? One thing is certain: our perception of change is dependent on our wit.
Two Ways of Looking at Change
There are many ways to look at change, but the two main ways are being indifferent towards it and learning to accept it, or being passionate about it and potentially denying it.
When we are passionate about some change that is occurring, be it losing a job or being offered a new job, we are experiencing it personally. That means we find ourselves excited and devastated by the change due to the personal benefits or losses it creates in our life. In these instances, change is perceived from our personal point of view and our impressions are colored by our emotions.
However, there is a better standpoint. Imagine you can view everything in our universe and how it is influenced by the natural laws. In a more general sense, all you can see is movement and that movement is a change. This is called an objective perspective, where we step aside from our emotions and impressions in order to see events as neither good nor bad, but simply as moments of change. From this perspective of Stoic thought, things appear as they are. This is because this view allows us to rise above our personal perspective in order to perceive events purely with our minds.
Therefore, an objective gaze is reliant on the quality of your mind and thinking, along with your ability to leave behind your emotions and personal concerns. An indifferent perception allows us to perceive the change of getting a job or losing a job without the concern of emotions. This is considerably more useful than a subjective perspective, where we are often too close to the event to make sound decisions. A problem naturally arises when we mistake our self-control with a perceived control over external objects. When such a situation happens, we often become so controlled by our emotions that we try to control the outside world, which is impossible according to Stoics.
“It is our attitude toward events, not events themselves, which we can control. Nothing is by its own nature calamitous – even death is terrible only if we fear it.”
Epictetus
Meditating on Death and Change
Death is one of the most noticeable changes in our world. It seems mysterious and dark to many of us, probably because it is the one thing we can’t explain or be reassured about. As a result, the sight of a dead body or the loss of a loved one leads to unpleasant and potentially harmful emotions.
From a scientific perspective, we can understand death as the permanent cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Despite this knowledge, the total blackout of consciousness still gives us chills when we think about it. But why is death such an unpleasant thought, and why is death considered to be something evil and dreadful? Stoics meditated on this idea and came to a tranquil conclusion, as written by Epictetus:
“It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.”
Epictetus
Our emotions are responsible for our impressions on change and death. We constantly ascribe different values to indifferent objects or events. From an objective perspective, everything external (those things we can’t control) is considered indifferent.
An objective perspective can help us to free ourselves from the anxiety and fear that are usually associated with inevitable events. Try to meditate on death and perceive it from both sides. First, examine your impressions about death – where did you get them? Second, try to rise above your emotions in order to perceive death as a natural change and not an evil force.
Commit yourself to this meditation on change every day and the results will become noticeable in your general thinking. Train your mind to withstand difficulties and obstacles that are almost certainly coming. The more you think about these inevitable changes, the more you will think of them as indifferent and neutral.
“Let death and exile and every other thing which appears dreadful be daily before your eyes; but most of all death: and you will never think of anything mean nor will you desire anything extravagantly.”
Epictetus
