I.I.IV – Eudaimonia
I.I.IV
EUDAIMONIA
Much like when I was a kid, I started re-questioning everything about everything. I had to start back from scratch, from the very foundation; tabula rasa. Philosophy, politics, science, society, every single thing. I let go of everything I thought I knew and started all over.
“Who am I?” I’d ask myself over and over, much like when Mewtwo was brought into existence. Was I just Marius? “Marius”… Okay, my name’s not really Marius. It’s a pseudonym. But don’t you worry. My name is equally as stodgy and hill-billy-esque. I used to hate my name. Took me a while, but I grew used to it. And now I can actually go so far as to say I like it. According to my super top secret and reliable sources (Google), my actual name means “promise” or “pledge”. But what kind of promise, I used to wonder? A fulfilled life, perhaps?
It was about that time that I started to associate the fulfilment of said promise to a state of human flourishing called Eudaimonia; a term coined by Aristotle a couple of years back. There is no synonym that quite manages to capture its meaning or do it any justice. In fact, my attempt to give it one might seem pathetic and absurd to anyone who has studied the great philosophers in greater depth than I have. But to me, Eudaimonia is the fulfilment of human life in terms of love, adventure and wisdom.
As a man of science, I always strive to be as objective as possible; even when it comes to subjective things such as values. And so, I came up with my own definition:
This refers to why we do things. Love gives everything we do a purpose. The Greeks used to distinguish between different forms:
- Agape – The selfless form of divine love
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- Xenia – A mix between love and friendship that is borne between a host and their guests
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- Storge – An innate form of love one would feel from instincts (as you would your parents)
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- Eros – The love associated with sexual or romantic desire
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- Philautia – Self-love
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- Philia – The love felt for one’s friends and family.
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- Impersonal love – Okay, I added this one with some help from the Romans. Love for material objects, I think, is a misguided form of love that leads to so much hate all over the world. The love for money, for power, for attention.
This refers to how we do things. It is not enough to have the knowledge, no matter how expansive. It is how you use that knowledge that matters. The value of wisdom is something I feel we’ve strayed away from. We’re forced to cram as much knowledge as it is humanly possible in our heads just like robots, and nothing else matters.
This refers to the things we actually do. To me, this one is more imperceptible than the other two. I don’t quite know how to define it or why it’s just as important as love and wisdom, but to me it just is. It’s the fire that keeps us all alive – our passion and determination. It’s courage, valour and strength. And I also believe it is the one which keeps love and wisdom in balance.
And so, as vague and ambiguous as all this is, it is my idea that the fulfilment of these three values leads to Eudaimonia; a state of human flourishing. I think everyone should have their own definition of life. The way I see it as that mine gives me a reason to be better. It took me a long time to get that – to actually start working towards these goals, and that’s because I never even realised I needed to. I never used to think about these things before my awakening. It was like I was walking on a treadmill that took me nowhere. I still consider myself immeasurably lucky for having gone through it without ever realising I needed to go through it. Suddenly, the shell of what I once was got to be filled with life once again.
But how did it happen? Was it pure serendipity? That I just happened to be watching a TV show when something interesting caught my eyes? Was it something that simple that triggered me into a state of heightened awareness? Or was it something else? A natural instinct that kicks in at one point or another? Does this mean all those expectant of such an enlightenment would have to watch Grey’s? I mean, I’d recommend it to anyone anyways – there is nothing to lose and much to gain. Have I mentioned just how good it is? So, so good!
But jokes apart, I don’t think it’s that simple and I’m a lesser man for even suggesting so. I now think that that trigger is different to each and every individual; that is, it’s no use for me to go around preaching about the many virtues of this one show that will definitely turn your life around. Because you’re not me. And thank god for that. For your own sakes. And the world’s.
Whilst Grey’s Anatomy was my trigger, I think there’s one for each of us. For some, the turning point might be meeting someone, finding a new passion, a loved one’s death, and so on and so forth. There’s still one caveat though. Just because I had been ‘triggered’ into this newfound way of living, it didn’t mean I was all done. Time and time again, I’d find myself in a rut where most of the time I’d feel as if I was existing instead of living, stop. At that point I learned to do one thing – to stop, breathe and think. By time, I came up with a set of questions that would help me reevaluate my life at any given point:
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- What is the meaning of life for me?
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- Who am I?
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- Am I happy with who I am?
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- Am I happy with what I’m doing?
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- Is this enough for me?
Every time I’d see myself starting to spiral, I’d ask myself these questions. When the answers would threaten to destabilise my entire life, I’d just take the leap. I’d do my best to get out of my comfort zone and strive to do more, to be more.
Stay wild,
Marius
Post-Scriptum
I know I may be coming across as if I’m the oracle of self-awareness, or a crappy motivational speaker or someone who’s on a moral high horse (see: Deepak Chopra), but I’m just outlining an exercise that has helped me time and time again to dig myself out of that same rut.
Since my writing this, I have read many books about this topic (including the best-seller Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life) and learned of a formal form of psychotherapy developed by Dr Viktor Frankl called logotherapy. This allows an individuals to dig deeper into their inner psyche in order to find meaning in life, thereby giving them a sense of purpose and a will to live.
At times I often bought my identity or how much I have not accomplished in life. I have come to learn that there’s is no rush, I live day by day and not worry much about the future because it creat a spiraling effect in my mind. Such a great read. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience.