The Wisdom of Philosophers

I’ve always considered myself to be a seeker of wisdom. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and I find myself in a state of uncontrollable joy whenever I come by inspiring quotes about life, living and the meaning of purpose.

Growing up, I’d court the ire of my later mother, Anotnia Uy de lor Reyes, whenever I’d prioritize reading over household chores. Reading was that important to me.

I’m still an avid reader until now, and I’ve passed this to my children, who also have a strong penchant to read. Honestly, I prefer going to bookstores than shopping for clothes.

When I was a professor at the Cebu State College some years back, I would encourage my students to love books. I told them “You can never be a good speaker or a good writer unless you read.”

I remember a conversation that I had with my late husband Atty. Manuel Oyson Jr. and Atty. Pacheo Sears, wherein Atty. Seares said “When you stop reading, you start dying”.

It is from this train of thought where I would share with you the thoughts of Justin Brown of the IdeaPod website, who talks about how to become resilient in challenging times by citing the wisdom of ancient philosophers.

Embrace change

Heraclitus, a philosopher famous for his doctrine of change, once said, “The only things that is constant is change.” But when you think about it, it’s pretty deep. Here’s what he meant: everything in life – people, situations, even you – is always changing. And that’s okay.

Why? Because fighting change is like trying to swim against a strong current – it’s exhausting and gets you nowhere. Don’t waste energy fighting the change. Instead, embrace it and adapt.

Know yourself

Socrates wasn’t just talking about your favorite color or pizza. He meant something deeper. Knowing yourself is about understanding your strength and weaknesses.

It’s about knowing what makes you tick, what gets you fired up and what brings you down.

The Middle Way

Aristotle philosophized about something he called the “Golden Mean,” or finding the middle way. It’s about understanding that going up extremes – a whether too much or too little – can lead to problems.

Like, I’d work all day long, skipping meals, and barely sleep. Then one day, I collapsed from exhaustion. It was a wake-up call. I remembered Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” and realized I had swung too far to one extreme. So, I started making changes. It’s not about going to extremes; it’s about finding your balance.

The Art of Acceptance

Epictetus once said, “We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how to respond to them”.  This is a powerful lesson in resilience.

Life can be tough. Sometimes, despite our efforts, things go wrong. People disappoint us, plans fail and dreams shatter. He teaches us that while we may not have control over what happens to us, we always have control over how we react.

We can let hardship embitter us, or we can choose to accept them and learn from them.