The lives of all wisemen down the ages were centred around habits and routines practices in which they engaged daily, from waking moments until going to sleep, that provided the structure necessary for a day lived well. These practices provided a blue print for them to help lead good and happy lives.
Morning: The ancient wise men believed in rising with the sun. As the great Roman philosopher, Seneca (4BCE-65CE) states, we are more productive and better people when we wake up in time to greet the sun. This allows more time for the morning practices that will follow, as well as the stillness that the early morning can provide, to ensure you are well set up for a day lived well.
Gratitude: As Marcus Aurelius, the wise Roman Emperor said, we must always remind ourselves of the privilege of being alive, and be grateful for all that we have been given. If we view each day as a bonus day will ensure that you live your day well.
Meditation: According to Marcus Aurelius we must “meditate often on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe”. This realisation reminds us that we are all one, and therefore helps us to treat others with respect and in a non-judgmental way. We must look out for one and another and care about each other, and therefore we must be patient and accepting of others.
Work: Marcus Aurelius also reminds us to keep focussed on the task at hand and doing all things to the best of our ability. Part of working hard means understanding what you have control over and what you don’t. There is no point wasting time or energy on things outside of your control.
Our mortality: Reminding us of our mortality, Seneca, says: “Let us prepare our minds as if we had come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day….The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.”
Reading: A core practice of the ancient wise was reading. They believed reading can provide the moments of stillness mentioned above. Also that it enables you to grow as a person – by reflecting on the discoveries made by others and contemplating the discoveries still to come. Never stop growing. Always find time for reading in your day.
Reflection: The ancient wise believed in putting each day up for review, in order to continually be better people and to live a better life. Seneca explains, “When the light has been removed and my wife has fallen silent, aware of this habit that’s now mine, I examine my entire day and go back over what I’ve done and said, hiding nothing from myself, passing nothing by.”
The lives of the wise greats of yore, as of some quoted here, centred around being good people and living good lives dictated by virtues and living life to the fullest. We can use those very practices, thousands of years later, to help us live well in a busy, distracted, and stressed society. Another ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus (50AD-135AD) had similar outlook: “Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.”
