NOTED
My wife and I attended STOICON 2021 online. This annual global celebration features Stoic thinkers, writers, and practitioners. One of the presenters that especially touched us was Kathryn Koromilas with her talk on “The Joyful Practice of Stoic Death Contemplation”.
Kathryn “lives in a cottage by a cemetery near a lighthouse on a loch in the lowlands of Scotland, with her companion, Henrietta the German Shepherd”.
Kathryn is a regular on STOICON and offers a number of programs for Stoics wanting to grow in their walk. Last year we took part in her “28 Days of Joyful Death Writing” workshop: a gentle, mindful meditation and writing on death.
Yes, Kathryn does a piece of work on death, but she does much more. Her new umbrella Metanoia Road on Substack opens with a vision of “Part newsletter, part memoir, part missive, part fiction, part essay, part philosophy, part conversation—I’m writing to change my mind, and I invite you to join me.” I like that.
Quote
The 28 Days workshop centered on passages from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. I have chosen one day for a taste of the experience. Kathryn guides participants with her reformulation of Marcus’ thoughts. It is good to remember that Meditations is a personal journal. He was writing to himself.
Stop what you're doing right now and ask yourself this: Is death a bad thing because you won't have this?
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 10.29
(My reformulation)
Stop what you are doing. Pay attention.
For me, Stoicism is about paying attention. Adding the fact of death galvanises this call to attention.
I love how Marcus constantly exhorts himself to stop and pay attention.
If I stop myself throughout the day, I notice that my days are filled with three types of activities:
Necessary
Mindless
Joyful
Necessary activities are those that are required for me to live as a human being in this world: social and work commitments, and commitments to health, learning, paying taxes, doing the groceries and the housework.
Mindless activities are those that tend to start with either the necessary or the joyful, below, but somehow are prolonged or allowed to extend and lose their purpose. So, for me, I might pop onto Instagram to check in with friends, creatives, and thinkers, but when I continue scrolling without paying attention, I feel myself sinking into mental and physical laziness and I have to stop myself.
Joyful activities are those that are mindfully done to enlarge and enhance me, my relationships, my life. Leading this 28 Days writing challenge is one!
By stopping and paying attention, I am able to reduce the time spent on mindless activities and open up space for more of the necessary and the joyful.
Reflection
The 28 Day experience went very deep as I explored the reality of my own death in many ways. Kathryn’s weaving of Marcus Aurelius, her sharing, and my personal writing made for a full experience. Break-out times with other participants added new dimensions for the exploration. The daily outline comes by email and gives “light” or “heavy” options for the exercises, with a half hour working well for doing the tasks. My wife and I will do the course again when it is offered by Kathryn.
I will follow Kathryn’s new path on the Metanoia Road. It’s interesting that the word metanoia has returned to me. In my early years as a Christian, metanoia was a central concept, speaking to conversion and repentance. Some think that the ancient Greek term meant something more like a change of mind or an important change of heart. Kathryn’s “writing to change my mind” seems to be seeking metanoia.
Resources and Event
https://kathrynkoromilas.substack.com
https://kathrynkoromilas.com/
Work
Community Manager, Writers’ Hour Manager, Coach at London Writers’ Salon
Ghostwriter at StoryTerrace
Lead reader at Open Book
Founder and host at The Stoic Salon and The Stoic Salon Podcast
Co-founder, host, and organiser at Paths to Flourishing
End-of-planning facilitator, Before I Go.
Wednesday, March 6
The Philosophy of Anxiety
Rethinking Anxiety as a Source not only of Suffering but of Insight
This event is sponsored by Classical Wisdom. Go to: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com