☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Unbroken Tranquility And Unending Freedom

A compelling proposition.

1. Morning Contemplation

🎧 You can find the audio version of this morning’s contemplation below.

Good morning.

In the view of author David Fideler, the Stoic philosopher Seneca’s most detailed and compelling description of the final goal of Stoic training is the following passage, which comes from his On the Happy Life essay:

Once we have driven away all things that disturb or frighten us, there follows unbroken tranquility and unending freedom. For when pleasures and pains have been banished, a boundless joy comes in to replace all that is trivial, fragile, and harmful—a joy that is unshaken and unwavering.

Then follow peace and harmony of the mind, and true greatness coupled with gentleness, since ferocity is always born from weakness.

Unbroken tranquility and unending freedom? Boundless joy? Peace, harmony, greatness? It’s certainly a compelling proposition.

This unwavering joy, the Stoics said, is the result of our efforts to enact practical Wisdom. We need awareness of—and adherence to—the virtues: Courage, Justice, and Moderation.

Faulty judgments and opinions need to be driven away. The things outside our control we learn to fear must be removed. Old patterns and unconscious biases may need to be unlearned.

The change that Seneca speaks of is a psychological transformation. When our judgments become sounder—that is, based more in reality than on opinion—joy lasts longer. When we face our days courageously, treat others justly, and apply a certain temperance to our intentions, we free ourselves from the grip of those things that are not our own.

The important things, the virtues, are always our own. They are always up to us. And so joy—the unshaken and unwavering kind—is in our hands.

One aspect of this promise is misleading, however, and it’s important to note. Even the most advanced Stoic will sometimes experience small disturbances. Instinctual responses, like being startled by unexpected events, can’t be helped.

But as Fideler points out, Stoic practice enables us to extend the time between such occurrences: