A Point on Stoicism

A point on Stoicism. Like some Eastern religions, Stoicism advocated a form of meditation training the mind to remain in the moment, to avoid brushing up against the dead ends of the loss both constituted by the past and inherent in the future. I went on a walk this morning with the express intention of so remaining “in the moment." It felt exciting to be undertaking an excursion in the great occidental tradition of walking and thinking, here on the very brink of the orient. Multicultural peripateticism. Aside from the chaff of cross-cultural frottage, I found that vision interfered with my efforts to remain in the present. There was nothing I could see that did not instantly relate to something unseen. Nothing was visible without also suggesting that it was merely the shadow of something invisible, usually of past processes. Mountains are the shadows of mighty geological clashes in the remote past. The built city is the shadow of millions of mighty struggles against indifferent time and entropy. The day itself seems to "recede into shadow" when I start thinking about all the days that have come before it, and how my understanding of this day is a function of lessons learned on all the days that have been.
My thoughts themselves are the shadows of some ur-thoughts knocking around my brain precipitated by current stimuli. And yet the effort to pare away the shadows, to get to the bottom of things, is always a vain one. To “live in the moment,” then, I must shut my eyes. And when using my sight I must be content to walk about in a world of shadows and reflections, to spar with them if need be, but know know that I will never vanquish them. Maybe there is comfort in knowing that the surface of things screens more than it shows. Maybe such an understanding can be donned as a vest against ugliness itself and the pratfalls of superficiality. Maybe tomorrow I will take an Epicurean walk and see what happens.