Stoicism | Illumination

Applying The First Virtue Of Stoicism — Wisdom

In this article, I delve deeper into the first virtue that the Stoics mention. I also provide live examples of where I find Wisdom.

Wisdom is the first out of the four virtues that make up the philosophy of Stoicism. Let me just start by saying how lucky I am and fortunate to have my father. He is and has always been my rock. Without him, I do not know where I will be. You know when people ask you, what is this person’s best quality, with my father I would always say his wisdom. I feel he always has the right answers. He grafted all his life and now lives comfortably and he teaches me every day that life is a sacrifice. If you do not suffer through life, you will never be successful, if you do not give charity, you will find it hard to give to others. The more you give, the happier you will be he tells me. This is pure wisdom from his life experiences.

I would love to speak more about my Father, as I think I could write an entire piece just on him, and maybe I will! Look I am not saying he is perfect, no one in this world is but the principles he has lived by, are respected by me and all around us every day. We take our parents for granted, one day they will not be here and we will miss them dearly. These role models (in most cases) will vanish and they will only be cherished memories. I think my father’s wisdom is due to his god-fearing nature. Abiding by the laws of gods books has allowed him to make better decisions in his personal life and business. Having these pillars at the back of his mind has enabled him to have an engrained structure of a principled life. The discipline this man has is out of this world. I hope and pray to be more like him every day. Anyway, this is what Wisdom is and the Stoics kept this as a key foundation of the philosophy and is part of most religions. It has allowed me to have Wisdom (in parts) at 31 years young (well this is what my fiancé said to me last week), I might be wrong!

So the Stoics believed that Wisdom enables a person to make better-informed decisions and allows them to know the difference between good and bad. It gives us clearer thinking and better judgment of a situation. If we broaden our minds each day to think differently, it can help us to build better relationships, be more successful and the list goes on. I have written in the past about the past and the pain it can inflict on us, as we all know time heals everything. If we do not let go, we as humans lead to ongoing unnecessary suffering. With wisdom, we challenge those beliefs and move towards living in the present building a revitalized peaceful mind that has inner strength. We should always challenge ourselves to be better and change the way we think.

Reduced overthinking can enable better decision-making, the Stoics believed that going from one activity to the next will help our minds be at peace. We no longer waste time proceeding with a specific action and we just do it without much thinking. This is the way of life, moving as if we are in a constant flow and not delving too deep as to why we are doing something. This only applies if the aspect is good, but wisdom then allows you to understand between what is wrong and what is right. We are all striving for excellence and the Stoics say to reach this, you must seek wisdom, especially the practical side of it, through application. Wisdom is not of much value if you do not apply it within your daily routine or life.

I introduced Seneca in my previous article, a man who applied the philosophy and there are many quotes that you can find online from him. I have added one of my favorites that encompasses wisdom, in my opinion.

Without wisdom the mind is sick, and the body itself, however physically powerful, can only have the kind of strength that is found in a person in a demented or delirious state.” Seneca

For me, we don’t realize how valuable it is to speak to the elderly, we can learn so much from them. We are blind to their wisdom. The reason we do this is due to our insecurities. The reason why they are wise is that they have already lived and know by trial and error where people can rise and fall. So next time you speak to an elderly person ask them more questions and seek to enrich your life with their prudence and wisdom.

In my next article, I will write about the second out of the four virtues that make up Stoicism.

Have a great day and stay safe :)