GOOD LIFE 2.0
reflecting on love and loss
COLLABORATIVELY FACING THE CHALLENGE OF LIFE. by Davie Philip
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism has influenced world leaders and informed modern psychology and psychotherapy, especially methods like cognitive behavioural therapy. It recommends zooming out and seeing your troubles from a higher vantage point where your worries are put into perspective. Although the Stoics saw life as a gift, they were pioneers of the practice of ‘Memento Mori’ - a Latin phrase Stoicism, a philosophy of action meaning ‘remember you must die’. By keeping from ancient Greece and Rome, can help. If in mind our own mortality, we don’t forget how you’re struggling with your mental health, precious our time on earth is. or suffering from eco-anxiety, then a good On the loss of a friend, the Stoics dose of Stoic philosophy could help navigate advised sitting with the pain, praising and through life’s challenges. sharing memories of the person you’ve lost, Although understood today as enduring and nurturing acceptance by remembering hardship or suppressing emotion, Stoicism that death is a part of life. I found this helpful was actually a very pragmatic way to face and wonder if it could help in finding the challenges and process emotions. Its central inner strength to deal with the continued loss message is that we don’t control what of species, ecosystems and the trauma of happens to us; we control how we respond. collapse? Creating spaces to deeply share Responding requires being mindful, aware our grief, our fears, our outrage and bearing and in control, rather than being led by your witness to the loss could be a start. Stoics say emotions. They believed the ultimate aim that removing our expectations and our sense of life was to live well and that living well of having been wronged will free us to act. requires the day-to-day practice of four The Stoics were not detached virtues; courage, justice, self-control and from society, they engaged deeply seeing wisdom. themselves as ‘cosmopolitans’ - world citizens. They saw all human beings, regardless of race, religion or political orientation as part of one universal
Recently, a friend passed away suddenly and it was a big shock. Coping with a death, or losing something you love, is one of life’s biggest challenges and something we all have to face. The loss of nature and the death of the living world is especially difficult to deal with. Practices giving us the strength and courage to handle life’s trials and tribulations are urgently needed.
34 “If you’re struggling with your mental health, or suffering from eco-anxiety, then a good dose of Stoic philosophy could help navigate through life’s challenges.”
community. They believed that people have a natural affinity for one another that begins as love of the self and grows to encompass family, our wider community and, ultimately, the love of humanity as a whole. The outcome is that all our actions consider the needs of others as equal to our own. The Stoic view of humanity is one of compassion and concern. They treated each day as a gift while practicing ‘Amor Fati’ - the love of everything that happens. As Stoicism is a series of reminders, tips and tools for living a good life, I think it is a timely practice that can help strengthen our resilience to cope in these uncertain times, together.
Davie Philip is a community catalyst and facilitator at Cultivate, the sustainability cooperative based in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, and a network weaver with ECOLISE the European network for communityled initiatives on climate change and sustainability. cultivate.ie