Seneca has taught me to inquire within, to seek wisdom wherever it may be found, to feel at home within myself and within the cosmos, to accept opportunities with gratitude and yet to be weary of fortune’s gifts, to allow for beauty in writing and speaking, to give of my gifts so that future generations may benefit from my life, to seek a sound understanding of matters human and divine, to see what virtue is and where it may be acquired, to know of the soul’s superior nature, and above all to fulfill my role in the play of life with vigour and gusto.
Marcus Aurelius has taught me to dig deeper and to aim higher, to see that which cannot be seen and to know that which cannot be known, to know that even education can sometimes get in the way of one’s personal enlightenment, to understand the order that exists within the cosmos and to see where I sit within that system, to look closer and to see the logos that pervades all things, to experience the intricate beauty that can be found in the smallest of things as well as the largest, and to know that all things exist in harmony with all other things.
Epictetus has taught me to take seriously the pursuit of sound understanding, to be a caretaker, to be a teacher of that which I have learned, to be reunited with the soul, to allow things to be how they will be, to seek a perfect balance between self-scrutiny and self-kindness, to never allow good or bad fortune to govern my actions, to pray in each moment for things which can be received in each moment, and to seek gratitude and steadfastness of spirit over bitterness and resentment.
I have a nature which fits into the Nature of the Whole, and that nothing feels better than living in agreement with that nature.
Simon Drew, via Zeno
Zeno of Citium has taught me that I have a nature which fits into the Nature of the Whole, that nothing feels better than living in agreement with that nature, and that progress is made by small steps which lead to big changes.
Heraclitus has taught me that there are some mysteries which are better discovered than learned, that poetry, mysticism, philosophy, music and art need not be separate pursuits, that all things change at all times, that all things are one, and that the logos is the rock upon which the wise man builds his home.
I’m Simon Drew and this is my #PathsToFlourishing story.
Learn more about Simon Drew’s coaching, podcast, writings and music by visiting his website.
This is a #PathsToFlourishing story published as part of a series of stories inspired by the Stoicon-x Women 2021 theme: Practical Paths to Flourishing.
Paths to Flourishing 