🖼️ Monday Muse
The Monday Muse is a weekly collection of reminders, insights, and maxims on the art of living. The term “muse” has two meanings: (1) a state of deep thought; and (2) a source of inspiration. May the following (in a small way) be a source of contemplation, insight, and wisdom to live your highest good.
📌 Perennial Reminder(s)
The French philosopher and historian Pierre Hadot on the paradox of the human self (quoting the Greek philosopher Plotinus):
The activity of our real self takes place in total presence, eternity, and perfect simplicity: ‘We should remember that, even in this world, when we contemplate—and especially when we contemplate with extreme clarity—we do not turn towards ourselves intellectually. Rather, we possess ourselves, but our activity is directed towards the object, and we become the object... then we are only potentially ourselves.’
Here we have the whole paradox of the human self: we only are that of which we are aware, and yet we are aware of having been more fully ourselves precisely in those moments when raising ourselves to a higher level of inner simplicity, we lose our self-awareness. […]
Source: Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision
📜 Perennial Maxim(s)
The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121—180) on distractions:
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💡 Perennial Insight(s)
The Greek philosopher Epicurus (341—270 BC) on examining desires:
We must remember that the future is neither wholly nor wholly not ours, so neither must we count upon it as quite sure to come nor despair of it as quite sure not to come.
We must also reflect that desires; some are natural, others are groundless and natural; some are necessary as well as natural, and some are natural only. And of the necessary desires, some are necessary if we are to be happy, some if the body is to be rid of uneasiness, and some if we are even to live. A person with a clear and certain understanding of these things will direct every preference and aversion toward securing the health of the body and tranquillity of mind, seeing that this is the sum and end of a happy life. […]
Source: The Essential Epicurus
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W. Bertolotti
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