Pierre du Plessis

View Original

Is this the condition that I so feared?

It would be fair to say that I've become fairly obsessed with practices over the last decade. That is after all what 'Training Naked' means, to engage authentically in practices as to live a better life.

Yesterday I wrote about my new favourite word, Autarkeia. Today I want to tell you about a practice that Seneca the Younger did and recommended. The practice serves to curb one's fear of losing your possessions.

“Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: ‘Is this the condition that I feared?'” – Seneca

That is, eat basic food, wear basic clothes, even sleep on the ground on a thin mattress, and say to yourself, 'is this what I so feared'? Truth is, you'll be fine, you can be fine with very little.

Get skin in the game, practice letting go.

Pierre