By being content with little, a person gains everything he said. Be content with little parable

25.11.2015
22:22

I just received a letter in the mail.
Its contents make you think deeply...I am publishing it here because I want to keep it for myself.
Perhaps it will be useful to someone else...

Olga TODAY IS A FULL MOON!

MAKE A DREAM AND WRITE A PLAN FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION.

One of my friends asked me a question

So, everyone around says that “we must be content with little!” and is this correct?

And what do I think about this...

Be content with SMALL?

In no case!

Give thanks, daily, even for the smallest things, YES!

But you need to set yourself the MOST SCALE AND BOLD GOALS!!

So that the Angels in heaven will admire and rejoice for your Power of Spirit. And courage.

And having dreamed, turn your Dream into a Plan! And do it.

We are simply subconsciously AFRAID that our Dream will finally come true.

And so we push it aside, go to it “all our lives”...

Or we listen to the losers around us and “be content with little.”

(Whoever is happy with everything and does not want to change good for better - will LOSE EVERYTHING!

Peter the First)

Olga Do you remember the book “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho?

When Santiago (who lost his money on the way to the pyramids),

Started working in the shop of a crystal seller

And thanks to several of my creative ideas,

I earned a lot of money for myself and for the Shopkeeper.

So much so that the Shopkeeper could FINALLY realize his dream

Close the shop and fulfill the DREAM OF YOUR WHOLE LIFE

Hajj to Mecca.

Do you remember what conversation they had?

If you forgot (or didn’t read The Alchemist), then I remind you...

Things are going well, said the Crystal Seller,

When the buyer left.

I earn enough now

And soon I will give you so much money that you will buy a new flock.

What are you missing?

WHY DEMAND MORE FROM LIFE?

Then, that one must follow the signs, the young man involuntarily burst out,
and he immediately regretted what he had said: The seller had never met the king.

“It’s called an Auspicious Beginning,” he remembered the old man’s words.

Newbies are lucky.

For life wants man to follow His Path."

Meanwhile, the owner was comprehending what Santiago said.

It is clear that his mere presence in the shop was a good sign

Money flowed into the cash register, and he did not regret hiring this Spanish boy.

Although he earns more than he should:

Having discovered that trading did not change anything in his life,

The owner, without chasing profit, assigned him a high percentage of each transaction.

Intuition told me: soon the boy would return to his sheep.

Why did you need the pyramids? - he asked to change the subject.

“Because they told me a lot about them,” Santiago answered.

Treasures have become a sad memory,

And he tried not to think about them, that’s why he didn’t tell his owner his dream.

For the first time in my life I see a person who wants to cross the desert

Just to look at the pyramids.

And these pyramids are just a pile of stones.

You can build this yourself in your yard.

Apparently you haven’t had dreams about long journeys,

Santiago answered him and went to meet the buyer entering the shop.

Two days later, the old owner returned to talking about the display case.

“I don’t like innovations,” he said.

I'm not as rich as Hassan, who is not afraid to make mistakes

He won't lose much from this.

You and I will have to pay for our mistakes all our lives.

“That’s right,” thought the young man.

So tell me, why do you need this stand? - continued the owner.

I want to get back to my sheep as soon as possible.

WHILE LUCK IS WITH US, WE NEED TO SEIZE THE MOMENT.

WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING TO HELP HER

HOW SHE HELPES US.

THIS IS WHAT IT'S CALLED: A FAVORABLE BEGINNING.

BEGINNERS ARE LUCKY.

The old man paused and answered:

The Prophet gave us the Quran and assigned us only five duties,

Which we must fulfill in life.

The most important thing is to remember that there is no god but Allah.

And the other four - pray five times a day,

Fasting when the month of Ramadan begins, being merciful to the poor...

He fell silent again. At the mention of the Prophet his eyes became moist.

Although he was a lively, impatient and ardent man,

Still, he managed to live his life in accordance with the law of Mohammed.

Well, what about the fifth duty? - asked Santiago.

The day before yesterday you said that I probably never had dreams about long journeys.

So, the fifth duty of every Muslim is to make a pilgrimage.

Each of us should visit the holy city of Mecca at least once in our lives.

In my youth, as soon as I saved a little, I chose to buy this shop.

I THOUGHT: I’LL GET RICH, THEN I’LL GO TO MECCA.

Then I got some money, but I couldn’t trust anyone to trade,

Because my goods are fragile.

And every day I saw pilgrims passing by:

There were rich people among them - they were accompanied by dozens of servants and entire caravans of camels,

But most of them were poorer than me.

I saw how they returned, happy and contented,

And they place a symbol of pilgrimage to Mecca at the door of the house.

One of them, a shoemaker who repaired other people's shoes,
told me that he walked through the desert for almost a whole year, but was less tired than in Tangier,

When I went to the next block to buy leather.

Why don't you go to Mecca now? - asked Santiago.

BECAUSE I AM ALIVE ONLY THANKS TO THE DREAM OF HER.

OTHERWISE WOULD I HAVE STANDED ALL THESE DAYS, INDISCISTRIBLE FROM EACH OTHER,

ALL THESE SHELVES LOADED WITH MY TOBAPOM

LUNCH AND DINNER IN THIS DISGUSTING TUBERRY?

I'M AFRAID THAT WHEN MY DREAMS COME TRUE, I WILL NO LONGER HAVE A NEED TO LIVE IN THE WORLD.....

And you dream of sheep and pyramids and, unlike me, you long to fulfill your dream.

I wish to ONLY DREAM ABOUT MECCA.
Thousands of times I imagined how I would cross the desert, how I would come to the square where the sacred stone stands, walk around it seven times and only then touch it. I imagine how many people will crowd around me and how my voice will be woven into the general prayer choir.

BUT I'M AFRAID THAT I WILL BE TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED,
AND THAT'S WHY I PREFER ONLY TO DREAM......

Well, after we brushed up on that key Dialogue in the book.

I want to wish you Olga:

1. Never give up on your dreams!

2. And always set such grandiose and large-scale goals as
so that increasingly smaller and easier targets
(which we often assign as the “ultimate goal”)

Achieved as if by itself, on the way to the big one.

Believe me, it is much easier to achieve them THIS way.

Create a DREAM on the edge of the possible
STUNNING YOUR IMAGINATION!

But still doable.

Then you will not be afraid, like that Shopkeeper, that by realizing this dream

YOU WILL HAVE NO NEED TO LIVE ANYMORE and you won’t sabotage its achievement yourself.

Challenge fate and circumstances!
And all the Angels will be on your side.

Sequel (“The Alchemist”)

… “Remember: you must always know exactly what you want,” Melchizedek said.

The young man knew. And he worked to achieve his goal.

Maybe it was destined for him to end up in a foreign country,

Meet a swindler there, and then double your herd without spending a penny on it?

He was proud of himself. He learned a lot:

He now knew how to trade crystal, spoke the language without words and read signs.

One day he heard a man complaining:

I climbed such a steep climb, and there was nowhere to even sit down and quench my thirst.

Santiago immediately realized that this was a sign and said to the owner:

Let's open something like a tea shop here.

“We will not be the first and not the only,” he answered.

And we will offer them tea from crystal glasses.
People will enjoy it and want to buy crystal from us. People are most greedy for beauty.

The owner looked at him for quite a long time, without answering.
However, towards evening, having prayed and closed the shop, he sat down in front of it on the pavement
and suggested that Santiago smoke a narghile, a fancy pipe used by the Arabs.

Tell me what are you trying to achieve? - he asked the young man.

You know: I want to go home and buy sheep. And for this I need money.

The old man put a few coals in the nargil and took a deep drag.

I've been running this shop for thirty years.

I can distinguish good crystal from bad,

I know all the intricacies of trading.

I'M HAPPY WITH THE WAY MY BUSINESS IS GOING, AND I DON'T WANT TO EXPAND IT.

IF YOU SERVE BUYERS TEA IN CRYSTAL GLASSES, OUR TURNOVER WILL GROW, YOU WILL HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE.

What's wrong with that?

AND I AM USED TO LIVING AS I LIVED.

Until you came here, I often thought

That I spent so much time sitting in one place,

While my friends were leaving, coming, growing up and getting rich.

I thought about this with deep sadness.

Now I understand that my shop is just the size I need and want.

I'm not looking for change, I don't know how to do it. I'm too used to myself.

The young man could not find what to answer. And the old man continued:

IT’S LIKE GOD SENT YOU TO ME. AND TODAY I REALIZED THIS:

IF GOD'S BLESSING IS NOT ACCEPTED, IT TURNES INTO A CURSE.

I DON'T WANT ANYTHING ELSE FROM LIFE

AND YOU ARE FORCING ME TO DISCOVER UNKNOWN DISTANCES IN IT.

I LOOK AT THEM, REALIZE MY UNHEARD POSSIBILITIES AND FEEL WORSE THAN BEFORE.

FOR NOW I KNOW THAT I CAN GET EVERYTHING, AND I DON'T NEED IT...

In one village there lived an ancient old man. The old man wore the simplest clothes and never sat idle: he worked in the garden, he tinkered with the cattle, he was always making something. The old man had three sons. They lived poorly, the sons helped their father in everything, but deep down they had a wormhole, we are young, we work, we do the hardest work, but we don’t see much wealth. But their father, and they could not contradict him, taught them modesty, asked them to be content with little and to see joy in ordinary things.
The old man's hour has come. He gathered his sons and gave each of them a bag of gold coins, which he, it turns out, had been saving for them, and bequeathed to them to be modest and hardworking. But the sons, feeling that their father was dying, instead of sadness, experienced black anger brewing in their souls.

The gray-haired bent old man -
You don't have long to live
You threaten with a clumsy finger
And you try to teach:

What to do
What to strive for
Which gods to pray to?
Whom to thank.

Leave me alone, worthless old man,
Your experience is nonsense
I don't care if you're a scientist
And his head is gray.
We have our own paths -
Cynicism, Calculation and Lies,
And you lived a little
And you will die in poverty.

The sons buried their father and went “for adventure.” “What have we seen in life other than hard work,” the sons reasoned. Everyone went their own way.
One was attacked by robbers in the forest, bleeding, he remembered the words of his father: “Be content with little, son, take care of what you have for a good deed.”
The second son drank himself to death in a tavern; while dying, he also remembered his father’s words: “Be content with little, son, take care of what you have for a good deed.”
The youngest son became addicted to games and lost everything he had. Dying of hunger and cold, he also remembered his father’s words: “Be content with little, son, take care of what you have for a good deed.”

Reviews

Hello, dear readers!

Today I accidentally read: “Be content with little and you will not need.”

Wise saying: Hadiths al-Qudsi - “God-revealed hadiths, different from other messages in that they came directly from Allah. Divine Revelations, reproduced by the Prophet Muhammad, in his own words.”

I admit, I do not understand Islam, I respect the feelings of believers, I sincerely ask you to forgive me if I inadvertently made a mistake.

All the best! Thank you for attention!

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When being content with little becomes a habit, you continue to deprive yourself of what you really deserve over and over again. To be happy, you must take from life what you need, and not what it kindly throws at you. Once you start making decisions about what you want from your life, your job, or even your relationships, you will feel like a free person with a million possibilities.

Well, we suggest you start with a few basic “rules”.

1. Stop making excuses for people

How often do you try to justify a person's disrespectful behavior towards you? We think quite often, especially if this person is your friend, relative or your other half. There are immediately dozens of reasons why you need to forgive the “offender” and continue communicating with him. “She had a difficult day today, that’s why she was so rude”, “my father had a difficult childhood, that’s why he has such high expectations from me, but in general he wants me to do well” or “my friend is just forgetful, that’s why he didn’t come to the meeting without even warning.”

Instead of such excuses, try to muster up the courage and express your displeasure to the person. If you understand that your loved ones devalue you as a person, ignore what you do for them, and behave rudely and disrespectfully towards you, then sitting idly by is simply unacceptable. Don't take this attitude for granted - you deserve better.

2. Understand what you really want

Understanding what you really want from work, relationships and life in general is not as easy as it seems at first glance. Some points in your “life plan” are quite stereotypical and, in fact, are of no interest to you; some were imposed on you by your parents or society, and following them you are also unlikely to become happier.

You need to sit down with a piece of paper and a pen in front of you, and think carefully about what your soul is about. Do you want a large and friendly family or are you more suited to a relationship where there are two of you? Do you want to earn a lot or do you need a modest amount to be happy? Do you want to build your own house, have a large apartment, or constantly be on the move to see the world around you?

Write down at least 20 items that you think you want to accomplish. After the first 5, as a rule, come the most desirable ones.

This is important to do primarily because a person cannot get what he wants until he realizes and accepts his desires.

3. Don't agree to something just because you don't want to put in more effort.

A person often agrees to less only because he does not want to spoil relationships, start a conflict, or spend more of his energy and time. In general, the reasons are different, but the result is approximately the same: dissatisfaction with what you have.

By agreeing to do something that your girlfriend or your friends like, but you don’t, you are not becoming happier, you are only trying to please your loved ones. By agreeing to a position lower than you planned to take, you do not become happier, but only become disappointed in yourself and your abilities. There can be a huge number of examples.

Before making a decision, always ask yourself: “Is this really what I want? Will I regret this choice?

4. Realize that you are not getting what you want because of yourself.

Do not blame the fact that you did not get what you wanted, neither higher powers, nor worldly injustice, nor unfortunate circumstances. This approach has never brought success to anyone, if only because you are setting yourself up for failure in advance.

Life can indeed be monstrously unfair, but not in all cases. Circumstances can get in the way, but there are also examples of how skillfully people are able to bypass them in pursuit of what they want.

It’s not all of the above that makes you vulnerable, it’s just the fear of failure. Who likes to imagine themselves as a loser who can't do anything? Don’t be afraid to take risks - and it’s quite likely that you will achieve everything you wanted.

5. Learn to talk about what you want

In interpersonal relationships and at work, you must learn to talk about what you would like. If you are a truly hardworking and promising employee, but this is not noticed, start a conversation about a promotion yourself. If you want to receive more attention from your partner, tell him about it. If you want your parents to stop trying to control you, talk to them. Say your desires out loud more often, even if they seem very insignificant to you.

Try to demand less and communicate more. For example, if you want your significant other to go to the cinema with you to watch your favorite action movie, tell her “I would be very pleased if you watched it with me” instead of the judgmental “we always only watch what you like” "

6. Try not to act contrary to your values.

You probably have your own views on certain things. If you have already decided on your beliefs, be kind enough not to deviate from them. The easiest way is to completely forget about your values ​​in pursuit of what you want. And try differently, even if the path is more difficult. But when you achieve the result, you will be proud of yourself.

I think everyone or almost everyone has heard the phrase “You have to be content with little,” and I have also heard it many times. Moreover, I never understood her, and she rather annoyed me than pleased me. Recently, this phrase arose in a conversation with someone I knew when we were discussing plans for the future, and I voiced some of my next “wants”, to which the person reacted in the style of: “Why do you need this, you already have there is such and such, that’s all, you don’t need anything else! You have to be content with little!”

It seems to me that such phrases act on emotional people like a red rag on a bull, all these “indicative-imperative” formulations like “You need to do this, live this way, go there and think about what I personally approve,” and the standard answer In response to something like this, there will always be a phrase: “What you need is what you need, be content with it, but I need something else.” The phenomenon of the widespread imposition of one's personal norms and beliefs on anyone who comes to hand in the post-Soviet space is no longer surprising, but still causes irritation. All these “wonderful” tips like: “You need to get married before graduating from university,” “You need to find a good job,” “You need to give birth before 25,” I think many people have gotten stuck in their teeth, but not those who give them, but only for those who. Personally, I always want to clarify one point with someone who says something like this: “Who needs it”? You? Do it, no one minds! Go out, find it, give birth! What do I have to do with it?”

But the topic of the article is not the statement “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” so I will return to “Be content with little.” What's good and what's bad about this?

Let's start with the bad. If we take this phrase literally, then it tells us that, in principle, wanting is bad, and wanting the best is even worse. That is, if you, after denying yourself everything for several years, saved up for a down payment on a mortgage and bought a set of walls and a roof measuring several square meters (Russian realtors affectionately call this a “hotel”), then, in principle, according to the logic of the phrase “ be content with little” within these walls and wait for the arrival of death, just think, some 50-60 years, no big deal, some don’t even have that. You can ride a tram, wear the same shirt until it turns into rags, and if you buy a fur coat made of astrakhan fur, it will also serve your children, and even grandchildren, because in principle it does not wear out. And so in everything: not satisfied with the salary? – learn to save, some people don’t even have a job; Don't you feel happy with your husband? – it’s okay, some have been girls all their lives, say thank you for at least marrying someone; can't afford to relax at sea? – what’s so bad about a dacha? A person reaches some kind of absurdity, trying to shrink to the size of a pea. You know, there are middle-aged women who come to visit and try to be as “comfortable” as possible and “not to disturb”, saying: “I’ll sit here quietly in the corner, don’t pay attention to me,” ultimately causing the owners maximum inconvenience. The apogee of all this is the mention of the name of the Lord, “Christ suffered and commanded us” - but where did you even get the idea that he told you exactly this???

I call this “decadence,” and I often want to take such people and shake them like a pear, so that all these self-deprecating attitudes can be shaken out of the person. There is no “healthy self-esteem”, “acceptance”, “self-love” here, if you want, I’ll tell you even more, such a person is toxic to those around him, because with his attitudes he not only ruins his own life, but also actively imposes them others, such as children. And if we consider this “self-abasement” from the point of view of duality, this is real pride, only in an inverted form.

Does a mentally healthy person really like to live in constant restrictions, what is so good about the ban on “desires”, does this lead a person to a feeling of happiness and fullness of life? From my personal point of view, no, and if we talk to such a person and ask questions, we will see that all these “no big deal” simply mask fears, insecurities, self-dislike, denial of one’s worth, lack of self-confidence, and most favorite - unworthiness. And I’m not just talking about material goods, not only about an apartment and a car, but also about building relationships in a couple, for example. A man doesn’t show attention, doesn’t care, doesn’t make a woman happy? Why, if the attitude “Even though it’s inferior, it’s mine” sits inside of her? I know quite a lot of young women - 30-35 years old, who have lived with men for 5-8 years, expecting a marriage proposal any day, but this proposal still does not come. “He needs time,” they say to themselves and to me at the same time, “this is a serious decision, he needs to weigh everything.” Yes, he has already weighed everything a long time ago, don’t worry, and he has already made a decision. And it is simply not in favor of marriage with this particular woman.

Tell me, I ask, do you think a woman who loves and values ​​herself will live for years in a relationship that does not suit her?

No, of course,” the interlocutor vigorously shakes her head, “why does she need this?”

And why do you need it? - I continue.

Well I do not know…. There are no others. And at least this one is nearby, it’s not scary to fall asleep alone.

Hence my negative attitude towards phrases of this type and towards this internal attitude. It corrodes a person, reduces him to the position of an “insignificant worm,” and how can such a person be useful? To himself - nothing, but to society - because he does not need to be taken into account, he is comfortable in his “don’t stick your head out”, which cannot in any way be considered a manifestation of a healthy psyche.

However, my goal was rather to find a useful application for this phrase, and I found it. If we shift the focus of attention from the word “small” to the word “satisfied,” or more precisely, “to be content,” then this changes things. When I just started coaching and set new goals for myself to achieve, my mentor told me that when the goal is achieved, it is necessary to “celebrate” this, no, not with alcohol, of course, but by “being” in this pleasant sensation, record it, “anchor” it, as psychologists say. Don’t rush further, setting more and more new goals, but savor the achievement of this one, consciously feel the joy that you got what you wanted. Thank, if you want, yourself and the forces that helped you, slow down, hang in the feeling of “I can!” If you are dissatisfied with what you received, with what you strived for, then you devalue both your efforts and the goal itself, and if you do this several times in a row, then at some point they will not help you, because Why help someone who is ungrateful? Then the phrase itself takes on a different meaning, “to be satisfied with what you have achieved,” to be grateful, and at the same time to desire more, because, as the angelic forces say, the Universe expands thanks to our desires.

Moreover, in my opinion, it is unnatural for a person to “not want” something bigger, better, next. From a coaching approach, setting and achieving any goal, no matter what, always leads to personal growth because it shows us exactly what we need to work on. Have you started working to increase your income - and family relationships have begun to crumble? Great, let's go look for the settings that limit us, change them and see what happens. A woman started looking for a husband - and her weight went up? Some block was also moved, we need to figure it out. Are you creating an image of a “new you” - and scandals with your mother have escalated? So we look there, we work there. And if a person does not strive for anything and tries with all his might to persuade himself that “it will do as it is,” then there is no need to work with anything, just wait for the deathbed - the liberator. But there's a catch. A life lesson must be learned whether you like it or not. Not now, but in the next five-year period, or the next, and if you persist very much, then in the next life, but you have to go through it. Something like “you can’t run away from fate,” but it’s more likely not a matter of fate, but of developing new qualities. If you ask God for a lot of money - be ready to work through what is blocking you, if you want a happy family life - figure out what you generally think about relationships and happiness, if you want to achieve something - understand why you need it.

In general, watching the entire process - from choosing a goal to achieving it - is very interesting. Why this particular person wants exactly this and what will come to the surface when we begin to move towards what we want - I don’t know in advance, but from experience working with clients I know for sure that achieving any goal will change a person, his internal attitudes, which is why I can confidently say that the lack of desires blocks personal growth, and in the end this will lead to frustration, apathy, illness and other unpleasant things.

Therefore, dream, wish, grow above yourself, free yourself from everything superficial and alien, change attitudes that do not serve you, and remember - no one will live your life for you, and no one will make you happy if you do not strive for this yourself . And on the way to achieving what you want, praise yourself for what you have already achieved, even for small steps, even for what may seem completely insignificant to others, because there is no greater power than love and acceptance.

As they say, “Who’s doing well? I'm done!"

Have a nice day and new achievements,

Be content with little. Epicurus

The founder of one of the Hellenistic philosophical schools was Epicurus of Samos (from the island of Samos), who believed that before finding out how happiness can be achieved, it is necessary to remove obstacles to it. What prevents you from achieving goodness? Fear, which is the eternal companion of the human race and constantly poisons its existence. Of all the possible fears, there are three main ones that you should get rid of first. This is fear of the gods - supreme and powerful beings, capable of not only helping, but also harming; fear of death - the sad, and most importantly, completely incomprehensible ending of any human life; and fear of fate - predestination that does not depend on us, which can be both good and evil.

Epicurus (341–270 BC)

Regarding the first, Epicurus says this: “The gods are immortal beings, and therefore completely blessed (that is, they have complete good, absolutely happy).” Imagine someone who has every possible benefit, who feels extremely good: will he strive for something, avoid something, set goals and objectives for himself, and do anything at all? Will not be. This means that the gods, being completely blessed, are also completely inactive and therefore cannot influence our lives in any way. Therefore, although they exist, they should not be feared at all. As for death, says Epicurus, we know very well that everything good and bad lies in sensations, and death is the deprivation of all sensations, which means that after it there is neither good nor bad. It is in vain that we think that it has anything to do with us, just the opposite: while we exist, there is no death, when death exists, we do not exist, that is, it and we are completely different things that do not touch in any way, and therefore There is no need to be afraid of death. Regarding fear of fate, the following is obtained. If predestination exists, it means that there are higher powers that appoint it. But we have just seen that the gods are completely inactive and do not influence us. So in whose hands is our life? Obviously, in our own. Everyone is the master of their own destiny and the architect of their own happiness. Nobody influences us except ourselves. Fate is the result of our actions, deeds and efforts, and to fear it means to fear ourselves.

Having freed yourself from fears, you need to find out what you should do and what you shouldn’t do in order to find happiness. We must, says Epicurus, choose pleasures and avoid pain. The desire for pleasure is called hedonism(from Greek hedone - "pleasure"). However, upon closer examination of the Epicurean theory, it is clear that it is impossible to characterize it as hedonism. Firstly, the desire for pleasure, Epicurus believed, must be reasonable: one must be able to sometimes refuse something tempting, and, if necessary, endure some kind of suffering. Secondly, the very absence of suffering, according to Epicurus, is already pleasure. Thirdly, and this is the main thing, happiness lies not in what is outside of us, but in ourselves. After all, it’s no secret that the same event can be perceived differently by different people depending on their assessments and opinions. One will be happy about something, another will be upset about it, the third will remain indifferent about the same thing. Happiness is not in things, but in our attitude towards them. Therefore, if we arbitrarily change our attitude to what is happening, everything around us can (for us) radically change. If we react differently to the events of our own lives, then it is clear that our perception of them will become completely different, can turn from negative to positive, and therefore it is entirely up to us to turn sorrows into joys, and stress to give way to calm. This means that if someone wants to be happy, then he can easily be happy, he just needs to discover the source of happiness in himself. But we, as a rule, look for it outside and, of course, don’t find it. From all that has been said, we see that Epicurus does not at all call for the maximum satisfaction of all possible desires. Quite the opposite, he invites a person to be content with little and at the same time experience not suffering from lack, but pleasure from the presence itself. Why, he asks, do we need a rich table and luxurious dishes, when coarse food can bring just as much pleasure? It is no coincidence that they say that hunger is the best seasoning for food. To a person who is hungry, simple black bread will seem very tasty and will bring a lot of positive emotions; those who constantly overeat will not be satisfied even with exquisite dishes. Why does a person need a soft feather bed and a dozen pillows, when you can have a great night's sleep even on hard boards? Would it be possible to just sleep during the night, and not stay awake, fighting sleep, guarding, for example, some object? To enjoy a little is the real art of life, says Epicurus. It is clear, therefore, that it is impossible to call his teaching hedonism. Oddly enough, the philosopher who calls to strive for pleasure will in this case be a representative of the opposite model - asceticism. But if Buddhist, for example, ascetics are ready to endure suffering due to deprivation, then for Epicurus the conscious limitation of one’s own desires is a means of pleasure.

11. Epicurus and Lucretius Carus about the soul Epicurus assumed that the living body, like the soul, consists of atoms moving in the void. With death they disperse according to the general laws of the eternal Cosmos. The picture of nature and man’s place in it presented in the teachings of Epicurus served to

20. Epicurus Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th–3rd centuries. BC e. The vast majority of people believe that Epicurus was an unbridled hedonist who valued worldly pleasures above all else. In fact, this philosopher defended the idea that it is moderation in desires

Epicurus Epicurus greets HerodotusAfter this, turning to the external and internal senses - for in this way the most reliable basis for certainty will be obtained - one should comprehend that the soul is a body consisting of subtle particles, scattered throughout the entire organism, very

Epicurus From the vast creative heritage of Epicurus, individual fragments, sayings, as well as the full texts of three letters have reached us, which contain a brief summary of the three parts of his philosophy - below is the text of the letter to Menoeceus, containing the author's summary

Epicurus and the Epicureans The Epicurean Hellenistic philosophical system moved even further away from idealism and was an expression of an extremely sober and positive way of thinking. In ethics, the school proclaimed hedonism, in physics - materialism, in logic - sensationalism. Theoretical

V. Epicurus Equally extensive, or even more extensive than Stoicism, was Epicurean philosophy, which is the direct opposite of Stoicism, for while the latter saw truth in being as conceivable - in a universal concept - and firmly adhered to this

Epicurus 341–270 BC BC Ancient Greek philosopher, materialist, atheist. He who does not remember past happiness is already an old man today.* * *Everyone leaves life as if he had just entered.* * *We are born once, and we cannot be born twice, but we must not exist for an eternity. You

4.1. Be content with little (Epicurus) The founder of one of the Hellenistic philosophical schools was Epicurus of Samos (from the island of Samos), who believed that before figuring out how to achieve happiness, it is necessary to remove obstacles to it. What prevents you from achieving goodness? Fear,

Epicurus Epicurus was the creator of one of the most significant moral teachings of antiquity and the founder of one of the most important Athenian philosophical schools, which bears his name. He was the son of the Athenian Neocles and was born in 342 BC. on the island of Samos. We know little about his early life.

Epicurus and the Epicureans The Epicurean Hellenistic philosophical system moved even further away from idealism and was an expression of an extremely sober and positive way of thinking. In ethics, the school proclaimed hedonism, in physics - materialism, in logic - sensationalism. Theoretical

Epicurus. Be content with little The founder of one of the Hellenistic philosophical schools was Epicurus of Samos (from the island of Samos), who believed that before figuring out how to achieve happiness, it is necessary to remove obstacles to it. What prevents you from achieving goodness? Fear,

7. Epicurus The concept of legal understanding, based on the ideas of justice and law as a contract of general benefit to ensure individual freedom and mutual security of people in socio-political life, was developed in the Hellenistic era by Epicurus (341-270 BC).

3. Thus spoke Epicurus Epicurus has a remarkably clear formulation of the scientific style of discussing problems: “We should understand,” he writes to Herodotus, “what stands behind the words, so that we can reduce to them for discussion all our opinions, inquiries, perplexities, so that V

15. Epicurus and the Epicureans Outstanding representatives of Epicureanism are Epicurus (341–270 BC) and Lucretius Carus (c. 99–55 BC). This philosophical direction belongs to the border between the old and new eras. Epicureans were interested in questions of structure, comfort of the individual in a complex

Topic 9 EPICURUS One of the most important traditions of philosophical ethics, called eudaimonism (from the Greek word eudaimonia - happiness), is associated with the name of Epicurus. Epicurus believed that the solution to the ethical problem lies in the correct interpretation of happiness. Happy people

EPICURUS (341–270 BC) Ancient Greek philosopher. From 306 BC. uh - in Athens, founded a philosophical school. He divided philosophy into physics (the study of nature), canon (the study of knowledge) and ethics. In physics, Epicurus followed the atomism of Descartes. Recognized the blissfully indifferent gods in