Yet despite the many vivid anecdotes told of him, he is historically a shadowy figure, and his ideas are difficult to pinpoint with absolute precision. But if you learn to be happy with only what’s necessary, you can stay happy with the addition of luxury.Diogenes of Sinope is the great exemplar whom later Cynics continually evoke. Everything new becomes old, and once everything around you becomes old, you’ll start looking for the new again. Because if your happiness lies in new and fancy things, that desire will never be satisfied. And it’s not that having nice things is bad, but if you can’t be happy without nice things, you won’t find happiness with them. He learned to live simply, and what was the result? He mastered himself, became ready for any possibility, and was worshipped as a god among men.ĭiogenes proves to us that happiness is possible without luxury, and in fact, maybe it’s our desire for luxury that stands in the way of our happiness, wanting new and fancy things, wanting more and more things that we don’t need. This impressed Alexander who said, “Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes!”Īnd when Diogenes passed away, a bronze-statue was erected in his honour, with an inscription that read, “Bronze grows old with time, but all eternity, Diogenes, will not erase your fame for you alone gave Mortals the lesson of self-reliance and the Easiest path through life.”ĭiogenes disciplined himself through rigorous ascetic training and learned to live life without any luxuries-physical or psychological. Diogenes asked him to move out of the way because he was blocking the sun. It was said that when Alexander the Great finally met Diogenes, he asked Diogenes what he would like from him: the most powerful man in the world. Xeniades expressed gratitude and called Diogenes a kind, living god. Diogenes taught his sons wisdom, to live ascetically, on plain water and food, with short hair, on barefeet and without tunics, to keep silent and listen, and to hunt. Spread the word in case anyone wants to buy himself a master.” Diogenes was purchased by a well-off Corinthian named Xeniades and tasked with mentoring his sons. When Diogenes was put up for sale as a slave, they asked him what he was good at. Modelling his life after Heracles, valuing freedom above everything else, he trained his body and mind to survive only on what was necessary.Īnd what did Diogenes get out of this philosophical lifestyle? When someone asked him that exact question, he said “if nothing else, I’m prepared for whatever happens.” He had mastered himself. He begged statues for alms so that he could get used to rejection, and he even walked barefoot in the winter. At one point he had a cup, which he threw away after watching a boy drink water with his hands, and a bowl, which he got rid of after seeing a boy scoop up food with a piece of bread. It has been said that Diogenes lived in a tub and carried around nothing but a knapsack and a walking stick. And for him, this didn’t mean coming up with complex theories and ideas, but learning to live well. And the life of Diogenes, an ancient Greek philosopher, is a testament to this truth.Īfter being exiled from Sinope, Diogenes moved to Athens to become a philosopher. Only by ridding ourselves of the desire for luxuries, by being content with a simple life, can we find happiness. They think that if they could get that designer purse or those fresh shoes, then they’d finally be happy.īut really, it’s our need for luxury that stands in the way of our happiness. They can’t imagine being happy without luxury-without the newest phone, game consoles, or some other piece of technology. So many people today pursue millions of dollars, sports cars, mansions, and designer clothing because they think that’ll make them happy.
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