[When my mother became seriously ill, I made many trips over great distances to help take care of her. It was nearly impossible to predict when I might be needed and when I would have to cancel professional or family plans. I often found myself ruminating on the stark uncertainty and terrible unfairness of my situation, sometimes giving in to pangs of self-pity.
But a quote from the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius always came to my rescue: “Nothing will happen to you which is not conformable to the nature of the universe.” We are flesh and blood, our loved ones get sick, we take care of them. Marcus’s teaching became a sort of mantra for me—and was my way of going with the flow.
So far, so good. But what does a morally responsible person do when confronted with prejudice, injustice or hatred? Should one go with the flow, saying “Oh, well, that’s life”? What would have happened if the world had gone with the flow when Hitler threatened the annihilation of Western values and civilization? How do the Taoists, Buddhists and Stoics reply to the presence of violence or genocide in the world? In short, isn’t going with the flow a gigantic and unconscionable cop-out in the face of evil?
Philosophers throughout the ages have given their answer: we should not go to pieces in the face of evil, nor should we emulate the cruelty of our oppressors—we must do what we can to oppose injustice. We see this teaching played out in the great traditions of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience. We see it in the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, as well as the Buddhist monks of Chinese-occupied Tibet.
But are these not examples of people who went against the flow? Yes, in the narrow sense that they acted against the flow of ignorance, tyranny or bigotry. But when the Taoists, Buddhists and Stoics speak of going with the flow, they have in mind the great river of nature and reason, the underlying order of the universe. As Marcus Aurelius put it, “All things are woven together and the common bond is sacred . . . for there is one Universe out of all . . . one substance and one law, one common Reason of all intelligent creatures.”
The sages instruct us to accept with equanimity the reality of evil in the world, but not its sovereignty; and to accept that while cruelty is a part of life, it is not a part of our common bond as intelligent human beings. Yes, we do our best to go with the flow—but not with the torrent of injustice.]
- See more at: http://now.tufts.edu/articles/should-you-go-flow#sthash.B7q4Jl5v.dpuf
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