““I Adapt to The Unknown
Under Wandering Stars I’ve Grown
By Myself But Not Alone””
What is philosophy? To me, it is to make a study of life, maintaining the perspective of a humble student. It is to engage in a study of yourself, to examine life through the lens of experience and the experience of those who have encountered similar situations. It's not just something intellectual, it's about developing a framework that is resilient and robust enough to apply to life's challenges. If I were to sum it up in one sentence, "adapt to the unknown" seems to connect the different concepts.
In the face of uncertainty that life presents, there exists a need to learn a structure and foundation for thinking. If you study philosophy, you will find most of the work is there to be discovered. An ancient and often misunderstood discipline known as Stoicism seems to be reemerging, with many people recognizing its relevance to modern life. It is wisdom built for action, highly applicable and practical for use when we need it most. It could be described as a way to prepare for and deal with the unexpected, an internal operating system. It's about developing the skill of effective decision making, training the mind to respond, adapt, and see things with focus and clarity.
We develop many ambiguous fears relating to the unknown aspects of life. Be refusing to acknowledge or properly define these fears, we compensate in ways that cloud and confuse our judgement. The work of a Stoic thinker is to strengthen and prepare perception, observing things simply as they are, questioning the impulse to label as "good" or "bad". Ultimately, it's relying on thinking that allows us to not only endure but to find advantage in adversity. With this state of mind, you have a solid core from which to act and can quickly adapt instead of getting caught in the chaos.
What is the point of all this? The Stoics put it simply: learning to live a good life. Determining how to live well through application of a consistent philosophy. To me, it is a point of reference for evaluating feedback from actions, and a reminder that it is never life but only our thinking in response that can be faulty.