What is evil to thee does not subsist in the ruling principle of another; nor yet in any turning and mutation of thy corporeal covering. Where is it then? It is in that part of thee in which subsists the power of forming opinions about evils. Let this power then not form opinions, and all is well. And if that which is nearest to it, the poor body, is cut, burnt, filled with matter and rottenness, nevertheless let the part which forms opinions about these things be quiet, that is, let it judge that nothing is either bad or good which can happen equally to the bad man and the good. For that which happens equally to him who lives contrary to nature and to him who lives according to nature, is neither according to nature nor contrary to nature.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book IV No. 39
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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 239–251
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In Zen they say: "Don't seek the truth. Just cease to cherish opinions."
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 121
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Judge not, lest you be judged.
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Whenever one is called upon to move refrigerators for a friend (that isn't us in the picture), it is likely in that mode of awakened doing our good friend Eckhart Tolle calls "Acceptance." The other two are "Enjoyment" and "Enthusiasm" (see Monetize Your Life for a complete discussion.)"Whatever you cannot enjoy doing," he writes in A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61)
, "you can at least accept that this is what you have to do. Acceptance means: For now, this is what this situation, this moment, requires me to do, and so I do it willingly."
, "you can at least accept that this is what you have to do. Acceptance means: For now, this is what this situation, this moment, requires me to do, and so I do it willingly."Tolle gives an apt example: "You probably won't be able to enjoy changing the flat tire on your car at night in the middle of nowhere and in the pouring rain, let alone be enthusiastic about it, but you can bring acceptance to it."
Most would agree, moving refrigerators--did I mention up and down stairs without a dolly?--is right up there with changing tires in the rain.
Performing an action in the state of acceptance," Tolle writes, "means you are at peace while you do it."
Fine. But let's break it down a bit to see exactly what the problem is with moving refrigerators for a friend.
It isn't the weight. I propel much heavier objects through the air--uselessly--at the gym three times a week. It isn't the ride out to my friend's apartment on a sunny day. It certainly isn't the camaraderie.
If it isn't these things then what is it? The suffering I undergo as a result of moving my friend's refrigerators around is firmly based in certain opinions that I hold.
Opinion #1: There are better things I could be doing. My time would be better spent at the beach, for example.
Opinion #2: This is stupid. The way people jerry-rig things, for example, rather than renting a dolly; that someone has planned poorly, taking too much time for this little maneuver; that someone forgets a needed key.
It's because of these opinions that my day is ruined by having to move refrigerators around, not by anything that happened during the evolution. This is true even when I smash a finger, blacken a finger nail and eventually loose that fingernail.
Or as Marcus Aurelius put it, "The poor body is cut, burnt, filled with matter and rottenness."
It isn't just that I need to come to a more favorable opinion, look on the bright side, give my friend the benefit of the doubt. No, the path to peace is in not bothering to form opinions at all.
Marcus Aurelius again: Let this power then," this rational ability we all have, "not form opinions, and all is well."
And Jesus: "Judge not."
When we give up this unnecessary, knee-jerk Aristotelian habit of coming to a syllogistic conclusion about everything that happens in our lives--categorizing everything as either good or bad, good or evil, right or wrong, better or worse, pretty or ugly--the moment is allowed simply to be; inner peace takes root and joy soon arises.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius gives us a good rule of thumb for when we should use this faculty of judgment: "Let it judge that nothing is either bad or good which can happen equally to the bad man and the good."
That covers just about everything, doesn't it? Indeed, my friend with the refrigerators is a very good man.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius can be found on line and as a free Kindle ebook from Amazon. But these are all older translations. For a more modern translation, I highly recommend Meditations
as translated by Maxwell Staniforth in 1964. I haven't been able to find that one on line. It isn't available for Kindle either. The quote above is from one of the older versions as my copy of the Staniforth translation is in a box in a garage somewhere in America . . .Photo credit: smbklb.com
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