A Simple Scholar

[Jianblade]

Hey Dudes!

So, I was listening to a podcast on Ancient Greek Philosophy, and listened to episodes particularly focused on Epicureanism. To sum up, Epicurus thought that the way to having inner peace is to live a simple life and to keep oneself intellectually stimulated.

He had four main tennets for living a simple, tranquil life.

1. Believe in the many invisible possibilities one has in their life, and not to give into the fear of life, because it is generated by ignorance of these possibilities

2. There's nothing to fear in death, because death is an extension of life.

3.  Good can be attained readily, as in, you can find happiness in the moment if you look for it carefully

4. If one is peaceful on the inside, the fear of the unknown can be endured if one is mindful of the happiness in the moment

Another aspect of Epicureanism is the idea of the simple scholar.

Epicurus though that the traditional mode of attaining happiness through material success, i.e. becoming rich and powerful are fleeting pleasures. The reason getting something brings pleasure is because it implies the possibility of more. People don't derive happiness from the moment, they derive it from the possibility of a better future. This could be sustainable if life was perfect...but it's not, life is messy, we're gonna have disappointments. There are going to be times when we want something we cannot have, there are going to be times when our expectations of life won't come through.

Epicurus thought that finding happiness in simple things that are readily around you rather than in the future. Simple things like reading a book, and visiting with a friend are more meaningful because the hinge on being in the moment rather than expecting something in the future. Think about when you spend time with friends, you're not staring at the clock waiting for the future to come, quite the opposite actually, you're hoping that time slows to a halt, so you can spend eternity in the moment you're sharing with someone or hoping the book never ends.

[disciplet]

Yeah Man, living simply is very dude.  I know that if we don't we get drown in our own "success".   When we live simply we lighten the load of life, which makes it easier to take it easy.

Peace,

Tom

[Reverend Al]

If you have fewer bulls, you'll have less bullshit to deal with.