"Look at me: I have no city to call home, no house, no possessions, and no one to serve me. I sleep on the ground...and yet am I not free?"
Diogenes of Sinope was the ultimate Cynic. He lived in a clay barrel in the marketplace of Athens. He owned almost nothing except a cloak, a walking stick, and a wooden cup. He thought he had reduced his life to the absolute bare minimum.
One day, he saw a young boy drinking water out of a fountain. The boy didn't have a cup. He just cupped his hands together and drank. Diogenes looked at his own wooden cup and realized he was still carrying unnecessary baggage. He threw the cup away and said, "A child has beaten me in plainness of living."
Epictetus idolized Diogenes. He pointed to the Cynic as the ultimate example of a free human being. Most people think freedom is having the money to buy whatever you want. Epictetus says that's actually slavery.
If you need a big house, you're a slave to the mortgage. If you need a fancy car, you're a slave to the car payment. You spend your whole life working just to maintain your stuff. Diogenes was free because he didn't need anything. He couldn't be threatened. You couldn't take his house because he didn't have one. You couldn't take his cup because he already threw it away.
Errors & Corrections
- Don't let your stuff own you. We buy things to make our lives easier. Then we spend our weekends cleaning and organizing those things. We buy a boat and become a slave to boat maintenance. Sell the boat. Buy back your time.
- Don't confuse wealth with freedom. A billionaire who can't sleep because he's worried about the stock market is a prisoner. A guy with twenty bucks in his pocket who sleeps soundly is free. Wealth is just having fewer desires.
- Don't hold on too tight. Everything you own is rented. The universe will eventually take it back. If you grip it tightly, you'll get dragged. Let it sit loosely in your hand.
Applications to Modern Life
Work
You get a raise. You immediately upgrade your apartment and buy a nicer car. That's lifestyle creep. Now you have to keep working just as hard to pay for the new stuff. You're trapped. If you keep your old lifestyle and save the raise, you buy freedom instead of debt.
Leadership
A leader who needs the corner office and the expensive chair is fragile. If the company hits hard times, they panic about losing their perks. A strong leader is happy to work at a folding table in the warehouse. They focus on the mission.
Athleticism & Sport
You think you need a perfectly equipped gym to get in shape. You wait for the expensive stationary bike to arrive. You don't need it. You have gravity. You have a floor. You can do pushups and run outside. You can train with your bodyweight.
Politics
Politicians spend millions of dollars to get elected. They become slaves to the donors who gave them the money. A leader who doesn't need the job is the only one who can actually lead. They can tell the truth because they aren't afraid of getting fired.
Social Media
We collect followers like Diogenes collected his cup. We think we need them. We check the app to see if the number went up. Delete the app for a week, and you should realize you don't need it at all.
Interpersonal Relationships
You buy expensive gifts to prove your love. You plan elaborate dates. That puts massive pressure on the relationship. A good relationship works just as well eating cheap takeout on the floor. If you need the fancy restaurant to have fun, you're dating the experience and not the person.
Maxims
- Your stuff owns you.
- Drink from your hands.
- Freedom is having nothing to lose.
In-depth Concepts
Kynismos (Cynicism)
The Cynics were the extremist cousins of the Stoics. The word comes from the Greek word for dog. They lived like dogs in the street to prove that social conventions were fake. They believed absolute simplicity was the only path to virtue.
Autarkeia (Self-Sufficiency)
This is the ultimate goal. It means you don't need anything outside yourself to be happy. You're a closed loop. You generate your own contentment. When you drop the cup, you achieve Autarkeia.