Writing something about serenity seems very difficult at a time when it is said: “We live in dark times”.
The question immediately arises: “Was it ever any different?”
Serenity – a necessary attitude to life?
How gloomy we perceive the times in which we live is a subjective matter and is very much linked to the circumstances of our lives. And the feeling is closely linked to whether we can recognize a purpose in what we do. Generally speaking, there is a certain division in the human community, which can be well illustrated by a short report from a northern German radio station:
A politician from the northern German state of Schleswig Holstein describes the mood in the Danish and German media in his home country. In Schleswig Holstein, Danes and Germans live together in a historically shaped way, as parts of this federal state have always alternated between Danish and German nationality in the past. There is still a Danish minority there today, which maintains its cultural independence and is also represented in politics at state level with its own politicians.
In this reportage, he shows that the Danish media develop a much more positive and solution-oriented view of the world than the German media do. In the German mentality, the focus on problems and fear play a greater role than in the Danish minority. In this context, it is perhaps interesting to note that in the World Happiness Report, Denmark is the second happiest country in the world behind Finland, while Germany is in sixteenth place. This report covers many factors that the authors tried to identify. It shows how complex the topic of happiness is. Now, happiness is not the same as serenity, but it may well be the case that there are many more cheerful people in a happy community.
The question of whether it was ever different plays on the impression that periods leave on subsequent generations. Today, the Middle Ages are perceived as dark and melancholy, whereas the subsequent Renaissance period left the impression of a cheerful, upbeat mood. Whether we are therefore living in a more cheerful or more sombre era will probably only be decided by subsequent generations.
Serenity – a diamond with many facets
Serenity as a subject of philosophy has accompanied mankind for thousands of years. There are important philosophers in many cultures who have expressed or written down their thoughts on this subject. This reveals major cultural differences in the way they view it. And the zeitgeist also plays a major role here.
Serenity as an expression of uninhibited childlike joy in life can develop into a rather superficial emotion over the course of a lifetime. It then takes on hedonistic traits that express themselves in the pleasurable satisfaction of the purposes. Especially after wars, people often want to enjoy life and prefer to push problems and questions about the purpose of life into the background.
We live in an age in which a leisure and entertainment industry builds large temples of culture in which people can satisfy their senses to their heart’s content, distracted from deeper questions motivated by purpose. The heart becomes attached to the outer purposes and fluctuates from the most superficial to the deepest emotion, and everything can be viewed with a rather somber or cheerful mood.
The Greek philosopher Epicurus pursued a special strategy to give more attention to the dimension of depth. In his life, he tried to satisfy the senses just enough so that no tension could arise in the soul as a result. According to his idea, a soul balance then arises, The Greek philosopher Epicurus pursued a special strategy to give more attention to the dimension of depth. In his life, he tried to satisfy the senses just enough so that no tension could arise in the soul as a result. According to his idea, a soul balance then arises, the result of which is ataraxia, a perfect peace of mind.
Maybe a better description of ‘ataraxia’ is: a perfect peace of mind or serene mood.
While Epicurus’ serenity is the result of a mental balance, there are also philosophical schools of thought that work with experiences through altered perception. The generation of inebriation and ecstasy plays a special role here, which for some philosophers should lead to serenity in an expanded consciousness.
Some indigenous peoples have a long tradition of using hallucinogenic drugs or dance rituals to induce ecstasy. Today it is also part of modern life. In contrast to traditional use, however, modern society is not taught how to handle and process the experiences in a meaningful way. Modern use takes place in the context of a fun society, serves as a diversion and therefore harbors great potential for addiction.
This group also includes those people who use euphoric drugs to try to escape a world that is often dreary and depressing for them. They do not use drugs to delve deeper into lost areas of human perception, but as a means of escape. The chemically-induced serenity, when it does occur, is usually limited to the time of the drug effect and ends in a rather depressive mood when the effect wears off.
Just as medicine men in South American indigenous groups tended to work with hallucinogenic drugs, it was traditional on the North American continent to evoke altered realities with the help of the imagination. Both can be found as a superficial continuation of these traditions in the context of modern leisure activities through alcohol and drug consumption or through experiences in extreme sports or similar activities.
Serenity among the Greek philosophers
Greek philosophers valued serenity very differently. For Plato, laughter as an expression of serenity was forbidden in his ideal state, as it was a sign of effeminacy and a lack of reason. Socrates loved serenity as a means of self-knowledge. Aristotle, a student of Plato, saw serenity as something that distinguishes humans from animals. Epicurus, who saw serenity as the result of the successful and moderate satisfaction of sensual pleasures, recommended the achievement of a “serene calm” as the goal of life. He did not favor the ecstatic satisfaction of sensual pleasure, but was merely in favor of a satisfaction that brings the senses into balance and thus to stillness. The image of the “serene stillness of the sea” has something mystical about it and touches on the dimension of depth. The sea is often used as a symbol for the soul and its dynamics. It has a moving surface, combined with a calm depth. The light refracts on the surface, while the stillness is lost in the darkness of the depths, and everything is animated. Like the soul, the sea has a dimension of depth that is like a second nature for humans. In this more spiritual dimension, an interplay of forces develops that is described as a trinity in Christian terminology as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The soul dynamics of all living beings can be seen as the dynamics of these forces. Their interaction can be represented as a triangle:
The first side corresponds to the divine power, as it is also reflected in religion in humans. It is the normative power of life. Just as the water on the surface creates forms through the waves, the normative power has a formative effect through the soul.
The second side is a subjective, empathic, unconditionally loving power, as it shows itself in the Son. It is that subjective, empathic power which, in its movement and vitality, gives life to forms that tend to solidify. This power gives the soul the devotion to go along with every current and new form-giving dynamic, thus enabling the divine thought to develop a visible form.
The third side of the triangle is the creative power of the Holy Spirit, which makes the thoughts of God visible in ever new stories through the interplay of the other two powers. This is where the original divine impulses flow together to form a continuous development.
When these three forces form a harmonious unity, their power develops as in an equilateral triangle, in which the point of contact between two forces always acts “perpendicularly” on the opposite side. This symbol describes the state of a soul that has a serene basic mood or lives in ataraxia, as Epicurus calls it.
The balance of the soul
Harmonious unity and the necessary balance do not come about by themselves. This is especially true in times like the ones we are currently experiencing. When the zeitgeist is restless, people are insecure and anxious. Few have a standing that gives them a stable equilibrium. However, everyone possesses – more or less consciously – the dimension of depth that can give them stability. But only a few people are anchored in that unmoving depth that gets lost in the darkness and is able to steer them safely through the dark times.
If we look again at the triangle, there is a center point that forms when you connect the middle of each side to the opposite corner. This point is special because it symbolizes the place where all forces are in perfect balance with each other. For Epicurus, this balance was the goal of all life. The serenity hidden in this point enables conscious development in the dimension of depth and is at the same time the consequence of such development. Aristotle perhaps had this ability in mind as the specifically human. It manifests itself as a serene calmness that gives room for a conscious way of life. When a person is able to reconcile the laws, the normative or the rigidity that allows a certain amount of shaping, with the empathic and creative potential, the “serene calm of the sea”, as Epicurus calls it, or Aristotle’s specific human serenity, develops despite all activity.
Greek serenity and the Tao
This serene calmness is based on a long life experience on the edge of excessive demands and the abyss, which makes people aware of the depth of their being. When this depth becomes the foundation of one’s life, the abyss loses its existential threat, because everything that happens is merely like the rippling of the sea on its surface, while the depths are experienced as motionless and still.
The depth that has become conscious leads man to the kind of independent thinking and acting that gives the triangle the balance that brings the original man to life. Chinese wisdom calls this creative elemental force Tao. Every person who stands in Tao develops the same conscious, serene serenity that brings the original human being – as a spirit-soul being – back to life.
