Courage | The Art of Being Brave
Does adopting Stoic principles require us to become brave warlords like the ones we see in films about the ancient Greeks, or does it simply require us to be the hero who saves the princess?
Not always.
One Stoic virtue is courage.
This indicates that bravery is considered the ultimate objective of eudaimonia, or flourishing, as defined by the Stoics.
It's crucial to note that eudaimonia, in the eyes of the Stoics, is life in harmony with nature, which is thought to be the ideal way for humans to exist.
The Stoic notion of courage breaks down into five categories: perseverance, self-assurance, loftiness, cheerfulness, and diligence.
These qualities are applicable in a wide range of circumstances.
As long as we approach it with discipline, positivity, and confidence.
The secret to success is this.
By managed hardship, or askesis, in which we progressively expose oneself to disliked indifferents, we might develop stoic courage.
We gain strength, confidence, and skill in this way.
Courage should, according to ethics, be used to forward causes that benefit society as a whole.
Things that are in line with our innate nature and the characteristics of our surroundings are ideal.
As a result, the Stoic hero is a moral hero.
Nietzsche, a German philosopher, placed a high importance on bravery.
He claimed that the essential component of becoming the overman, or übermensch, is courage.
The Overman is an individualist who has succeeded in breaking away from the morality of the master-slave and living independently while forging his own route.
Nietzsche said, "God is dead," implying that since we live in a secular age, God is no longer able to answer our questions.
Similar to this, Albert Camus believed that adhering to institutionalized religions would be the equivalent of intellectual suicide since it would imply that we would not recognize reality for what it actually is—that is, ludicrous and meaningless.
Nietzsche and Camus both believed that the best way for us to exist as human beings is to establish our own moral standards and adhere to them rather than accepting the morals of particular ideologies and belief systems, which ultimately serve to deprive us of our intellectual conscience and exploit us.
We require a great deal of courage when we choose to break out from the "herd mentality" and genuinely build our own path.
Because we need to free ourselves from the bonds of fear and custom.
And we're likely to run into opposition from our surroundings if we do this.
Put simply, having the bravery to be ourselves.
The Buddha saw courage rather differently.
There is a widespread misconception that Buddhist monks are a group of cowards who hide while giving up on life in their monasteries.
Buddhism holds that renunciation of life is only real inasmuch as it refers to renunciation of samsara, or some aspects of life.
All appetites, desires, and pleasures that result in misery are part of Samara, the wheel of suffering.
We attempt to escape samsara by "taking refuge" in Buddhism, which involves giving up a significant portion of what is typically considered to be enjoyable living.
Giving up so many things causes a lot of sorrow and suffering for the average person.
And here's the irony: in order to be pain-free, one must endure the agony of giving up momentary pleasure and dedicating oneself to a life of discipline and practice.
As a result, choosing to follow the road of enlightenment requires great bravery.
Faced with our worries, facing enlightenment is a journey we take.
Since a fully enlightened human is fearless.
And we must confront fear if we are to overcome it.
This is particularly valid for dread of dying.
Upon encountering the harsh realities of life, the Buddha choose to acknowledge and accept suffering instead of seeking shelter from it.
In Buddhism, therefore, courage is the ability to face reality as it is, to turn our sorrow and anxiety into a route towards enlightenment.
Zen scholar and philosopher Alan Watts talked about a metaphysical courage that is essentially the knowledge that everything that appears in life is merely a performance.
Thus we approach life in the same way that we do a film.
This means that because everything that occurs seems genuine to us, we become entangled in life and feel afraid.
However, we are able to see the illusion for what it is.
After that, there's nothing scarier in life than a video game.
Watts claims that this was the goal the Samurai had in mind when they studied Zen.
Nothing would frighten them because they desired this metaphysical courage.
Speaking is not as easy as doing.
And when we apply this theory, we find that our bodies continue to react to the things that frighten us.
We are still afraid.
The secret to overcoming this fear is to recognize it for what it is—an illusion—and to stop being afraid of it.
On the other hand, worrying is a fruitless loop that perpetuates itself.
Worry stems from the false belief that we can influence the future by thinking about it, which is unfounded.
Therefore, the capacity to just let the show unfold as it unfolds in this environment is courage.
The final bravery that I would like to discuss is a wonderful complement to the first.
The most well-known cynic of the day, Crates of Thebes, was a teacher of Zeno of Citium, the father of stoicism.
Crates noticed that Zeno was having trouble swallowing his humiliation.
So he gave his student a pot of lentil soup and let them wander around.
Because it was thought of as a dish for peasants, lentils were despised.
Crates broke the pot with his staff because he saw Zeno straining and feeling guilty while completing this duty, and Zeno fled in disgrace with the lentil soup running down his legs.
"My little Phoenician, why flee?
You have not experienced anything dreadful," Crates said.
He wished to impart to Zeno the freedom that comes with being shameless.
Diogenes of Sinope, the teacher of Crates, who lived in a barrel, does a very good job of illustrating this independence.
Diogenes piqued Alexander the Great's interest, and he made the lengthy journey to meet him.
With his riches and influence, he could obtain anything the empire had to offer, so he asked Diogenes what he could do for him.
After giving him a quick glance, Diogenes replied, "Would you kindly move aside as you are obstructing my sun?"
Diogenes was able to be independent because of his way of living.
He didn't require the support of the strongest man on earth or the endorsement of others.
However, leading such a radical life required a tremendous deal of courage.
According to the Cynics, real courage means that we simply don't give a damn about external
things, including what people think and say about us, and don't let them stop us from
living how we want to live.
Real courage, in the Cynics' opinion, is just not caring about other people or what they think or say about us; it is simply not letting them stop us from living the lives we want to live.
A brave cynic has no shame.
All things considered, terror permeates the human experience and can prevent us from leading even the most routine lives.
All things considered, terror permeates the human experience and can prevent us from leading even the most routine lives.
For this reason, developing courage is crucial if we want to live more contentedly and freely.
Or at least to help us deal with the situation of having been thrust into this world against our will.
"Sometimes it takes more courage to live than to shoot yourself," as Albert Camus once said.