MDMD Wicks' Daily Devotions

[David Morris]

Interestingly, the philosophy described below is closely related to the 
theology of Christian Science which teaches that illness and sin are 
illusions, and that when truth is perceived and embraced all these false 
illnesses and frustrations, even death, will fall away.

David Morris

>From: Terrance Indeed, Epictetus metaphorically speaks of his school as 
>being a
hospital to which students would come seeking treatments for their 
ills(Discourses 3.23.30). Each of us, in consequence merely of being human 
and living in society, is well aware of what comprise these ills. In the 
course of daily life we are beset by frustrations and setbacks of every 
conceivable type. Our cherished enterprises are hindered and thwarted, we 
have to deal with hostile and offensive people, and we have to cope with the 
difficulties and anxieties occasioned by the setbacks and illnesses visited 
upon our friends and relations. Sometimes we are ill ourselves, and even 
those who have the good fortune to enjoy sound health have to face the fact 
of their own mortality. In the midst of all this, only the rare few are 
blessed with lasting and rewarding relationships, and even these 
relationships, along with everything that constitutes a human life, are 
wholly transient. But what is philosophy? Does it not mean making 
preparation to meet the things that come upon us? (Discourses 3.10.6, trans. 
Oldfather)
>
>The ills we suffer, says Epictetus, result from mistaken beliefs about what 
>is truly good. We have invested our hope in the wrong things, or at least 
>invested it in the wrong way. Our capacity to flourish and be happy (to 
>attain eudaimonia) is entirely dependent upon our own characters, how we 
>dispose ourselves to ourselves, to others, and to events generally. What 
>qualities our characters come to have is completely up to us. Therefore, 
>how well we flourish is also entirely up to us.


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp