Andrew Meek is a British writer and a good friend. He feels things deeply and conveys them similarly. I was so moved by his words to help me in this difficult period of my life that I want to share a slice of Andrew’s wisdom with you.
Hannah, I have been trying to think of something I could say to sum up the life that you, and of course, your lovely daughter have now been forced to live. I am, despite my lack of religious faith, a great believer in the words and philosophy of the Stoics, such as the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. His words and that of other Stoics have helped me shape my life when it has changed through circumstance into a new and not always welcome direction. Courage is the thing they have taught me most of all, the courage, not of the soldier in combat, or leader about to make a decision that will alter the course of history, but the courage to face all that the mystery of the unknown future will throw at us. For, and you and she now face one of them, there are times in our lives when, as the great Stoic philosopher Seneca put it, ‘merely to live, is itself an act of courage.’
Marcus Aurelius Seneca
So that is my message and my hope for you: courage. Something none of us, your friends can give you. But I think, already, you have found it. You will stumble, yes, as will she, but courage will keep you both going. We have very different views of what may lie at the heart of things, what may wait us when this physical world comes to an end, but what we do have is our shared humanity, our compassion for others, and our courage to keep going. We are never truly alone. As Aurelius and Seneca show us: even those dead for many centuries, can reach beyond their physical bodies and their finite lives, and give us hope, and in doing so they are with us still, a hand on our shoulder, giving us comfort and giving us hope.
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Thank you dear Andrew! Your own comforting words and those handed down to us through the ages are great indeed. I am not without courage – thank God – as my life is quite daunting.
Please read more about Andrew Meek and his work in the interview I did with him last year.
http://www.hannahwarrenauthor.com/?page_id=3096
Thanks for sharing this, Hannah
And Andrew, thanks for these encouraging words.
My own personal belief is that ideas such as these come straight from the loving creator to people like Marcus Aurelius and others who are seeking for the truth. They are to be admired and benefited from.
Hannah, the source of all courage (and love, joy and peace) is our Heavenly Father. May you be filled with all these is the days to come.
I believe and expect very good things for you and Joy.
Love and blessings.
A perfect message – courage. And time. Time will get us through anything.