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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.