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Good day! February has come. This will be a bit lenghty. About my copy of the book, I bought it on January 21, 2024. Anyway, here are my reflections.
On Sharing Knowledge
It is in my nature to share knowledge. Seneca here shares the joy of sharing knowledge to friends especially to his dear Lucilius. I am quite a voracious reader. In my school, elementary, high school, and college, I usually gain a reputation of being a walking encyclopedia, even in the infancy of Web 1.0. I always frequented the library. I truly grateful to my father who bought a set of encyclopedias from a peddler around 2000s. I learned many things like how poisonous a biting a dumb cane is, colors of the flames burnt from different kind of chemical powders, what a parent must do when they find suspicious fluids on their children's underpants, how printers mix 4 kinds of ink to make an image colored, and the like. I also share my father and older brother's love of documentaries. Even now, some of the kids in my neighborhood call me "Kuyang Matalino" ([Tagalog] Knowledgeable Big Brother)
My profession is Information Technology, I do software development. Despite not getting a degree, I still manage to earn a livelihood that pays well... due to my endeavour of self-studying. Along the way of being a software developer and "hacking", I met some friends along the way with similar profession. I belong several groups of IT professionals which includes Progatory, Pinoy IT Geeks/Pontus Cognito, PHackers. I met them online and now we share knowledge more than ever.
I also have some mentees, one is a nephew of a woman whom I had relation with, one is my childhood neighbor and her thesis groupmates, one is my cousin who also aspires to be an IT expert and his younger brother being into multimedia art. By teaching, I understand my skills and knowledge more.
I truly relate with Seneca's joy of pursuing knowledge and sharing it.
On Crowds
Seneca starts with his usual feelings when he is in a crowd, as if they are a thing to deal with. There will be times we are ought to blend in the crowd.
"Certainly, the greater the mob with which we mingle, the greater the danger."
This reminds me of Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.". Think about the stampedes, some sudden terrorists, etc. But, Seneca talks about how he will become a "changed" man but in a wrong way. It's as if he's some sort of a stereotypical introvert despite being a politician. It's as if he's agoraphobic, I don't know.
He talks lengthily about the people of the arena, the audience. They enjoy watching fights, witnessing gore, being enthralled with action, cheering, occasionally seeing some wild beasts. Today, it is akin to an MMA match minus the beasts, the people's cruelty, and daily deaths... and the fighters are voluntarily in the arena. Similar enjoyment can also be seen in a NBA or FIFA World Cup. Hell, even in a cockfight arena. Even a huge bickering on social media by the celebrities create a similar atmosphere.
The arena usually has someone who committed a crime and now "entertains" the people on their high ground (if you know where they usually sit). Even now, some people are harboring morbid curiosity, it'll be evident when you show them a random gory motorcycle accident on an internet video.
The death arena people irks Seneca. He is horrified of these people that he would want to save the wayward guy who ended being an entertainer in the arena. He realises how cruel the people are. He also talks about the horror of human nature when it comes to riches or being slanderous... to the point that he feels that he should "imitate or loathe" the world, but he recommends to do neither.
The best course of action is to mingle with select people who brings out the best in you. Neither be a people pleaser nor try to win the heart of the crowd. It's better to cultivate oneself. It's better to improve own knowledge and wisdom and to share it with friends. One's best qualities shall always face inward, he tells Lucilius. Say, you want to hone your software development skills, do so and eventually you'll find friends of the same cloth like I did.
On Philosophy and Friendship
This is the most lengthy one I have read so far. He is talking about the debate on what a "self-sufficient" man is. Some say it is being immune to suffering; some say it is feeling suffering but being able to overcome suffering. He talks about equanimity. A self-sufficient man can be equanimous when he loses a limb or a friend, but the same man has a sense of self-preservation and a desire to keep and make friends.
He warns Lucilius about the "fair-weather friends", those are present only in time of convenience. Then are also "friends" that one may get when one is rich, powerful, or holds something of great value. When they make friends of someone, they are merely "bargaining". A self-sufficient man befriends someone for the sake of it. It's like seeing some beauty hardly can anyone behold.
A wise man isn't the one who isolates himself or anything. That man is sufficient for a happy existence rather than mere existence. This reminds me of Covey's book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He emphasises interdependence over independence. A wise man may be independent, but he can also be interdependent; he can still ask for help with anything no matter what.
"... for a happy existence, he needs only a sound and upright soul, one that despises Fortune."
I interpret this as living with people well.
The latter half of the letter talks about being self-sufficient to the point of overcoming misery, loneliness, emptiness, and the like. It's easier said than done. Corollary to this is contentment. This is quite similar to the Buddhist teachings. One may have cravings, but it does not necessarily mean that one will be too driven or devoured by it. One may feel a want to make friends, yet not being driven by loneliness. I had that kind of feeling where I wanted to make friends with someone due a deep emptiness within me that causes some sort of harsh loneliness. The keyword I set here is desperation. One must avoid being too desperate to make friends, in turn, it leads to a want of accolades and what not.
"Unblest is he who thinks himself is unblest"
Speaking from experience, I suffered a similar fate. I may be the "Bearer of the Curse", yet I still managed to go on and cultivate what I need to cultivate. I am blest to not have ended up myself and still manage to practice my profession. Now I am less pessimistic, less nihilistic, and less cynical.
Speaking of desperation. There's this movement called "incels", a support group who helps anyone with psychological challenges when it comes to finding a love partner. Sooner or later, some people who crave not only love, but also sex, has hijacked the term for themselves. These group of guys also called "incels" are too driven not only by loneliness but also severe frustration that it corrupted their souls. They formed an echo chamber where they hold misogynistic views, objectify women too much, being too entitled, forgot what "consent" really means, fantasies of sexual violation against... too many to mention. One of their well-known patron saint is Elliot Rogers who, due to his frustrations, ended up 3 men, 3 women from a house supposed to be full of women... I don't know his total body count. Despite having the looks, he still didn't get a girlfriend despite having the capacity to do so. Show someone, who doesn't know him, his face and I bet someone will find him attractive, but he gave into his vanity and the rest is history. This is what happens when one neglect one's soul. They have gone beyond desperation. In this case, these later "incels" found the wrong friends. One may pray for their redemption. This is one of the dangers this letter reminds me of.
"Please be kind to yourself" the thought resounds. Do not give in to any desperation.
