Stoicism | Send Me To Sleep
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What led Andrew to discover Stoicism?
So shortly after I finished university, some 15 years ago now, maybe a little less, I discovered a book, and the name of that book was The Antidote. And I think that the logline was something like, happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking. And this title really appealed to me for a number of reasons. I was looking for some self-help, I suppose you could say. During that time, I'd just broken up with a girlfriend who I'd been with for some years, so I was feeling in a bit of a dark place. But then, also this title, Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking... I think, if I'm being honest with myself, I was in a bit of a nihilist kind of place at the time. And unlike today, I would have described myself staunchly as an atheist and a materialist.
And so the energy of this book was exactly what I needed at the time. And contained within this book was the beginning of my journey into my profound adoration of the exploration of philosophy. And whilst this book I wouldn't say is directly a philosophy book, It contained certain philosophical ideas, chapter by chapter, sort of in a way that eased you into concepts that would help you think in a different way. And this was the first time I'd ever actually decided to put any concerted effort into reading a book of this kind. And in fact, I wasn't a huge reader before this point. And I still remember now the profound excitement in the revelation of the importance and the usefulness of the ideas that I took from that book.
every chapter having learnt something new, and feeling like I'd uncovered some sort of secret that was hidden in the world this whole time, as if I'd discovered a new secret level to reality that was previously unseen to me. That seemed to make all of life make more sense. And in a way, that is sort of what philosophy does for you. The more you're able to take on these ideas that help you think about life in a different way, the more of life you are able to truly see, I think. Perhaps not distinctly, but in all of its shades. As messy as it may appear. Now, specifically in this book, was the first time that I'd ever come across the idea of stoicism, or the Stoics at all. And... Honestly, it didn't really go into a huge amount of detail.
Like I say, a new concept or idea was explored in every chapter, and the chapters were relatively short, somewhat anecdotal as well. I unfortunately forget the name of the author of this book, but I do remember that he was a journalist as well as an author. And so his book had a rather journalistic style. And I appreciated that very much at the time because it was able to appeal to me and engage with me in a way that helped me get on board with these ideas. And I believe he went to visit some modern day Stoics in the book. And they explained a little bit about the way they lived their life. And I found the things that he said they had to say very profound. I remember the distinct feeling that it was putting into words ideas that I'd always had in my heart and in my head, or at least felt like I'd had for a long time.
but never really had the specific way of saying or explaining to people. And so, in a way, it also felt a little bit like coming home or finding family in these stoic ideas being presented to me. Now, where I am today and having read and listened to considerably more philosophy than I had then, I now come to understand that Stoicism is an extremely complex worldview, and essentially an explanation of the universe as a whole, And it is indeed very ancient, dating back to those early Western philosophers of ancient Greece and even pre-Socratic ideas. And so, the ideas that were being presented in this book, you could say, are quite a condensement of the true ideas. Perhaps more of a, you might say, pop culture version of what the Stoics believed.
Or what we believe they believed as Stoics. We are simply reading ancient texts in the fragments that we have and attempting to understand their worldview in its entirety. Nevertheless, there is some great profundity in those ideas, and they are beautiful in their simplicity.
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