Tuesday, November 15, 2005

 

A Simple LIfe (Originally Published 9/27/05)


My friend Aubrey has a quote from Marcus Auraleus in her email signature:

"Very little is needed to live a happy life"

Whenever I get a letter from her, I really contemplate this little phrase, which comes in a cursive font with a little cartoon rose on each side. I like it because it's a GREAT motto for her and her partner Matt. They are, more than anyone else I know, easily contented with little, with the simple, the quiet, the slow. As one who attempts to live in the immitation of Christ, It stands out to me as almost a mantra. This little verse could easily have been a truism for Jesus and his Apostles, just as it surely was for our Beloved Father Francis and Sister Claire of Assisi. It is a truth for the Amish, the Menonites, and the Brethren (three AMAZING groups of American Christians), and was a motto of the homesteaders and Pioneers who travelled across the Great Plains with fiddle and hoe in hand.

What I LOVE about getting this from Aubrey is that while her and Matt would most definitly NOT identify themselves as Christians, this is a MOST Christian of mottos. Not Christian in the closed-off, Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell/Fred Phelps sense of the word, but in the expansive, Jesus/John the Baptist/St. Francis sense of the word. This is the Christianity I hope to be an example for in the world, and I love that this lesson comes from a non-Christian friend's quote of a non-Christian Emperor.

Shalom

# posted by Jonathan Thompson @ 9:33 AM
Comments:
Aubrey commented (At tribe):

Fri, October 28, 2005 - 11:25 AM

Stoicism is like Taoism?

I've always found the Stoics, Marcus Aurelius being one, very interesting. It strikes me as being similar to Taoism in a way. Live life as it comes and have no resistance to it. My actual knowledge of neither philosophy runs very deep. These are just my impressions. Go with the flow... Another favorite Aureliusism - "It loved to happen." Spend some time with that one!
# posted by Blogger Jonathan Thompson : 11/15/2005 9:40 AM
 
I replied (At Tribe):

Mon, October 31, 2005 - 9:16 PM

Good points!

I think that what you're saying about taking life as it comes is the deepest key to happiness, and at the core of any TRUE religion or philosophy. Jesus said "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficent unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6: 34, KJV) I'm sure that the way Jesus REALLY said it was much more succint and closer to "just deal with right now, and don't worry about tomorrow till it comes." Even Kenny Rogers said "Never count your money when you're sittin' at the table... there'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done." (The Gambler) ... ;)
# posted by Blogger Jonathan Thompson : 11/15/2005 9:41 AM
 
Another great read. Thanks for putting these thoughts up for the public to see. I feel like coming back here for more discussion like this. There are many people struggling to engage with Christian teaching in a personal and honest way, and I think this site is great for me in exploring spirituality. Mostly this is because I enjoy reading your treatment of this material. The green background's great too.
"Be happy now, without reason, or you will never be." This is from _The Way of the Peaceful Warrior_ by Dan Milman. Indeed there are some people I believe who have the gift to be able to choose to be happy. Meditation seems to help me do this.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11/16/2005 1:40 PM
 
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