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November 21st

ONCE IS ENOUGH, ONCE IS FOREVER

“A good isn’t increased by the addition of time, but if one is wise

for even a moment, they will be no less happy than the person

who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in

it.”

—CHRYSIPPUS QUOTED BY PLUTARCH IN MORALIA: “AGAINST THE STOICS ON COMMON

CONCEPTIONS,” 1062 (LOEB, P. 682)

erhaps wisdom and happiness are like winning a medal in the
Olympics. It doesn’t matter whether you won a hundred years ago or
ten minutes ago, or whether you won just once or in multiple events. It
doesn’t matter whether someone beats your time or score down the road,
and it doesn’t matter whether you never compete again. You’ll always be a
medalist, and you’ll always know what it feels like. No one can take that
away—and it would be impossible to feel more of that feeling.
The Juilliard-trained actor Evan Handler, who not only survived acute
myeloid leukemia but also severe depression, has talked about his decision
to take antidepressants, which he did for a deliberately brief time. He took
them because he wanted to know what true, normal happiness felt like.
Once he did, he knew he would stop. He could go back to the struggle like
everyone else. He had the ideal for a moment and that was enough.
Perhaps today will be the day when we experience happiness or
wisdom. Don’t try to grab that moment and hold on to it with all your
might. It’s not under your control how long it lasts. Enjoy it, recognize it,
remember it. Having it for a moment is the same as having it forever.