Zen & Stoic Life Principles: Principle 6: Don't Be Elated by Things Not Your Own

Описание: Remember: Don't Be Elated by Things Not Your Own
[Life Principle 6]

Most people take pride in things they own and people they know. Sometimes it takes losing them all to make them realize that they really had nothing, and that they had relied on a false sense of pride derived from something that they can never truly own. Don't wait for life to teach you this lesson, learn it before hand and avoid it.

How many of us know people who are popular on social media but who have no real friends in real life. How many of us have heard of businessmen who lost all their life's savings in a single day. And how many of us have heard of people who lost all their possessions to a natural or man-made disaster. This is the danger that lies behind being elated by things not truly your own.

As the Stoic-philosopher Epictetus pointed out; someone who is proud of their own beauty is quite different from someone who is proud of owning a beautiful thing. One is proud of something that's truly their own and the other is elated by a beauty that is not truly their own. The beauty of the flower does not belong to the gardener but to the flower itself. Beauty of a thing belongs only to the beautiful thing and not to its caretaker. It is wise for us to realize this distinction.

Just as easily as you can feel proud and elated by something that is not your own, you can become disappointed and depressed if you lose that thing. So, it is important that we do not blindly attach our sense of self-worth or self-esteem to things that we don't really own. Be it people or things, if we attach any sense of self-worth to a thing that can be taken away from us, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. This is the true meaning of the words; "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin cannot destroy, and where thieves cannot break in and steal". As we discussed in Principle 1, we need to remember the clear distinction between what is within our power and what is not within our power and control.

If you have ever wondered why billionaires like Warren Buffet, drive old cars, own old houses and stick to non-luxurious lifestyles, it is because they have realized this truth through their own experience. They know that businesses can be made or destroyed in a single day. The more elated you are, the higher the fall if disaster were to strike. So, keep in mind the words of the writer John Bunyan, "He that is down needs fear no fall", and remember not to be elated by things not of your own.

[Supplemented Commentary on the Enchiridion of Epictetus - 'Zen & Stoic Life Principles Series’ Episode 6 ] Complete Series Available Here:    • Zen & Stoic Life Principles - Series