The scheme of life



Diogenes Laertius is quoted as saying that our possessions are mere trifles. That our human body is simply a vessel of clay containing a quart of blood.

 

What Diogenes was attempting to put across was that, over time, in the long run, our 'possessions', even our body, is of no real concern. They will age, decay and eventually be left behind.

 

The only real possession which we own is our character and our scheme of life. How we live our life, what we do with our life, how our actions impact and impinge upon others, that is what we must protect and that is what we must pay attention to.

 

The pursuit of wisdom and virtue need supersede all other worries. How do we cringe when asked what our job is. When we have to tell people it is low paid, menial work and they are in a better paid job with higher social status.

 

A job is just another way a person grabs hold of what we are. But we are not our job, we are not our title, we are our character and our character can be what we choose to make of it.

 

We can choose to moan and groan, to complain about our lot in life or blame others for our circumstances. We can choose to flatter others as a way of ingratiating ourselves in to their favour. Or, we could accept responsibility for who we are, where we are and devote ourselves to the pursuit of wisdom and virtue, not to be better than others, but simply to improve our character and our scheme of life.

 

What sort of man spends more time on his car than his character? Or a woman that spends more time in the beauty salon than on her character?

 

If your only true possession is your character, who you truly are, then don't you owe it to yourself to devote loving care and attention on what really matters?