Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
Philosophy that is short on time but not on depth.
Now it's January at the time of this recording and in the Northern Hemisphere it's one of the most depressing times of the year,
Trumped only by February.
It's cold,
It's dark,
You've overindulged and now you're probably broke.
It's a rough combination for sure.
As my girlfriend Kylie and I look for ways to entertain ourselves without breaking the very broken bank,
We come up with an idea this weekend to clear all the leaves outside.
As well as the neighbours as it happens.
We also took down all the Christmas trash and dumped it at the tip.
It was cold,
It was wet and it took ages.
But surprisingly it felt great.
Our drive looks amazing with all the leaves gone and the neighbour was really happy that we helped her out.
Kylie and I kept remarking on how good we felt all weekend.
It was then that I thought of Missonius Rufus and the following quote.
If you accomplish something good with hard work,
The labour passes quickly,
But the good endures.
If you do something shameful in the pursuit of pleasure,
The pleasure passes quickly,
But the shame endures.
I just love this insight into human nature.
And it's so true.
It's like a trick of the mind.
I didn't want to do the leaves,
For the pleasure of doing the leaves of course.
It was pretty taxing and without gloves it was rough.
My hands were freezing.
But that accomplished feeling followed me around all weekend.
And every time I looked at my drive,
I was really happy.
And yes,
I'm well aware that it's a sign of getting old if I look at my driveway and get happy.
But I'm okay with that.
This quote of Missonius Rufus not only got me thinking about me cleaning the driveway and how that made me feel good,
But it also made me think of all the pursuits of hedonistic pleasure I've been through and how quickly that pleasure dissipates.
Now I got to thinking,
That is December all over.
All the indulging,
The wine,
The food,
The chocolates.
And none of that pleasure lasts for very long.
Quite often actually afterwards I feel a bit gross.
Of course,
There's nothing wrong with a bit of wine,
Food or chocolate.
And they are certainly not shameful acts.
But you get my point.
The pleasure goes quickly and if you have too much,
You don't feel great.
It's the exact opposite of what you wanted.
As we apply Missonius Rufus' quote to more base temptations,
It gets even more apparent.
How often have you given in to temptation and the moment the pleasure passes,
Shame sets in.
It's crazy,
Right?
I actually think simply becoming aware of this truth that Missonius Rufus points out can help us resist temptation.
It's almost like temptation is this con man trying to trick us and we need to wise up to him.
Conversely,
I think knowing this quote can also help us take on noble acts.
To know that the payoff is bigger than the labor itself.
Of course,
To really learn either one of these lessons,
Much like all virtues,
We need to practice them.
So as you go through your day today,
Take on noble actions with the knowledge that the good that will follow will last.
And resist temptations with the insight that shame will follow and it's not worth it really.
Best of luck out there as you practice these.
If you enjoyed this and want to learn more,
Then check out my courses on Stoicism.
They're goodies,
I promise.
I'll see you soon.
