The Walking Stoic: how AMC's most popular show serves as a Stoic lesson

Cosmopolitans of the post-apocalyptic world

Watch out! Walkers!!!

Like it or not, AMC's flagship series, The Walking Dead, has successfully completed 5 seasons, keeping the viewers glued to their seats with the same ol' zombie spectacle. Well, not totally, because contrary to many other zombie fictions, such as the Resident Evil films, oldies like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead, etc, The Walking Dead focuses more on realistic survivalism, as demonstrated by Rick and his ragtag group of multiethnic, multicultural friends. Although the zombies (called walkers by Rick and his gang) play an important part in the series - without them the storyline would be invalid - they are presented as a passive element in the series. The active component is the group of humans, as they manage to fend off one after another zombie attack, all the while gathering food, water and other basic necessities in a post-apocalyptic world.

I had to write this far, because I don't believe everyone here is familiar with the show. After all, there are tonnes of shows nowadays, and it's not very Stoic to stay tuned to the TV set. Anyway, if you aren't familiar with the show, there's always Wikipedia for brushing up the facts. So, on to the purpose of the article.

How can a popular sci-fi, dystopian show serve as a Stoic lesson?

It is important to develop a patient, well-informed and systematic perspective about anything in the world, before we learn to cultivate the latent lessons that it can enrich us with. And the same principle holds true in this scenario as well, especially so I'd say. For some, The Walking Dead might be nothing more than AMC's unholy attempt to grab a slice of the TRP, all the while filling the viewers' heads with mercilessly meaningless gibberish about zombies, and some uber-macho survivors (who manage to look cool despite starving and living from hand to mouth!).

But simultaneously, it can serve as a great analogy. And that's what we're trying to discuss here.

Hedonic adaptation

Ok, so the first season of the TWD introduces Rick and his ragtag gang. The folks have, virtually, nothing to eat. Each day, they have to go scavenging, break into houses (the zombified residents aren't too happy about it), grab all eatables (no matter how rotten and stale they have turned), fight zombies, get dirty (with decyaing zombie parts, blood, rotten flesh and related mess), lose a member or two, and yet manage to turn up back at the camp, grinning like there's no tomorrow. And even the world of Game of Thrones is safer than than in TWD, because at least Tyrion, Sansa, Baslish, Jon Snow and a few others manage to stay alive there. In here, none other than Rick is safe - not even Carl (read Kowrl, as Rick calls his lad), I believe.

Not my ideal home, folks!

Jokes aside, we see how the group of survivors manages to, well, survive. They have no food security, no guaranteed electricity, no Internet, no police, no hospital. It shows us an important point, hedonic adaptation. In Professor Irvine's book A guide to a good life: the ancient art of Stoic joy, he discusses this in detail. Whatever new utility or convenience becomes available to us, we begin to take it for granted sooner or later. For example, once I was playing a game of Wesnoth (an open-source turn-based strategy game) with a few guys. One was from the US, while two were from Australia. The fourth was from Russia, and the firth hailed from Ghana. As the sixth player, I was from India. All of a sudden, a sudden revelation came to me, how great it is, that we are playing this game with each other, even when thousands of miles physically separates us? Shouldn't we all be thankful for that?

Alas! When I voiced my opinion, everyone else started laughing. One of them told me that my feeling was much like gas, and it'd go away in due course. This is the reason behind this deep-rooted mentality of dissatisfaction that modern man feels.

TWD, like other dystopian presentations, shows us that the conveniences we enjoy, as modern men, aren't constant, universal and eternal. In fact, they're very, very recent, when we look at history. And no, the Internet doesn't grow on trees. All these utilities had to be mentally conceived, developed, marketed, debugged and upgraded, and all this has been done by the human civilization, guided by the Logos within, aka our reason. Almost anything and everything we enjoy, is the gift of reason.

And hedonic adaptation, in my opinion, is a sin against the Logos. Of course, I use the term sin in proper sense here (to sin is to miss the mark, as per the ancient Greek roots of the word). We have so much, and yet, like mechanical beasts, we crave for more, more and even more! Much like the Vikings portrayed in the History TV series of the same name... Nothing manages to quench our insatiable thirst for more consumer gadgets, the latest, trendy clothes, best food and drinks, worldly power and reputation. And yet, the moment we achieve them, we forget their worth, and start taking them for granted.

Conveniences in life should be seen as privileges, and not as rights. By cultivating this sense of profound wonder, acceptance and gratitude from within, man can realize the worth, the value of all those things that he has in his power, his immediate possession.

Strength lies in unity 

We all have heard the story of the father, who teaches his son that strength lies in unity, by making him attempt to break a single stick first (successfully so), and telling him to try it with a bundle of sticks later. This is what Stoicism teaches us - United we stand, divided we fall.

The society is an important aspect of Stoicism. As servants of the Logos, we must learn to erase our differences, as Seneca and Epictetus would have told us. Even before the Roman Stoics, the early fathers of the Stoa Poikile, such as Zeno and Chrysippus, taught the world to reject all artificial differences - racism, sexism, militant nationalism, the difference between rich and poor - to create a happier society. The Stoics famously rejected slavery, and advocated the equality of men and women.

Welcome to Woodbury, vote for Phillip Blake!

Complex and stable systems emerge, as we see in physics, when simpler compotents (underlying it) interact, and work together. Thus, while your RAM card or the UPS might have little value independently, together they work to build one of the greatest inventions of all time, the computer. The same is true for the human society, we must learn to work together.

In the third season of TWD, we meet the settlement of Woodbury. Basically, around 80 men and women have come together, fortified a part of a town, created a post-apocalyptic society based on rules and organization. While smaller groups continue scrounging the garbage outside, the folks at Woodbury have clean water, enough food, roofs over their heads, security and (even) entertainment. They have guards patrolling their perimeter, nurses and doctors to look after the sick, schools that function, and even their own (not so) good governor!

By dividing labour and specializing tasks between them, the people of Woodbury play their destined roles - some as guards, others as gatherers, doctors, nurses and so on. What would otherwise be impossible for one man, is performed effortlessly by the society. This is why Zeno and Chrysippus advised us to recognize (and regard) ourselves as cosmopolitans, citizens of cosmos.

Rishi Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, one of the greatest writers during the Bengali Renaissance, famously remarked "Whatever creates divisions amongst human beings, is destructive and disruptive, and thus, evil. Whatever, on the contrary, unifies us, is good". 

Differences are artificial

In the first season, the racist goon Merle call T-Dawg a nigger, to which Rick replies that there are no races any longer, only black meat, and white meat. And zombies show equal appetite for both, anyway. Given the chance, they'll be equally happy to munch Merle's humerus or crunch T-Dawg's femur, if you excuse the pun. Well, zombies aren't racists, at least!

The human organism is unique, in that, we have the voice of reason, the breath of Logos, to guide us. Yet, owing to our baser, animalistic instincts, we create differences nonetheless. A shinning example of India's (in)famous caste system, which benefitted a few, at the cost of the rest's tears. Even by flipping the system upside down, and creating a society in which the Shudras enjoy the party and the Brahmins kick the dust, no solution will emerge. What's the solution, then?

Equality - of all castes, classes, genders, nationalities - is the need of the hour. This is what Stoicism advocates. All men and women have the power to reason, and they all, then, are equals (initially). And depending upon how Stoically they manage to live, they can then cause their own upliftment, or downfall.

Hershel Greene, the grand old man of TWD 

Hershel Greene

Hershel, the beloved old farmer in the series, is an excellent example of what a Stoic should be. Initially, he's living quite undisturbed in his farm, with his family. He tries his best to cure his zombified wife and stepson, among others, and still manages to plant crops and vegetables to feed his family, all the while doubling as a doctor. When he sees that his initial hypothesis (that zombies are still alive) is wrong, he patiently accepts his mistake, and changes his outlook. Later, he becomes Rick's main advisor, always serving as the voice of reason and intelligence in the series, till the moment of his death (damn you, governor!).

Hershel, famously, believes. He considers the apocalypse to be some sort of divine punishment, or the Nature's way of bettering itself. Obviously, not everyone will agree with him, at least no the atheists among us (myself included). But, while I laughed at Hershel at first, I began to see how Stoically he acted (in the ancient sense of the word). 

Epictetus told us to embody our philosophies, rather than explain it. And Hershel, in the patient, composed and responsible manner he acts, lives up to the validity of the maxim. Rather than trying to justify his beliefs to the realist Rick or the pessimist Andrea, he keeps to himself, all the while doing his duty. Even his death, in my opinion, is something he accepts in a Stoic manner.

Hershel's stoic predicament is especially visible in the fourth season, when the group experiences a flu outbreak. People are dying left and right, there's little hope of getting any medication, and the flu's very contagious, yet Hershel enters the quarantine block, helps everyone stay alive, does everything in his power (even risking his own life, both to the flu and the zombified dead) to combat the situation. Isn't this how we all should learn to act?

To be a hero is not to risk our lives needlessly. Instead, the real heroism lies in the performance of our destined duties. The real immortality lies more in our successful enactment of our roles, rather than in the possibility of infinite extension of the extent of our lives. This is what Hershel Greene, my favourite character in the show (sorry Daryl), teaches us.

Conclusion 

Ramkrishna Paramhamsa, an important socio-religious reformer of the 19th century, advised us "Be like the swan, as it laps the milk alone, from a mixture of milk and water". Thus, the cultural phenomena such as The Walking Dead can mean different things to different people. But being the Stoic aspirants we are, it is our duty to recognize the better part, the crux of them all, and learn from them. That's why, I chose to relate popular culture with Stoicism, in this post.

Image credits

walkingdead.wikia.com
http://blog.upack.com

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Stoic principles analogous to Newton's laws of motion - Part II

 

"Once you have fixed on your governing principles, you must hold them as laws that you cannot transgress. Pay no heed to what is said of you for it is beyond your control"

  

- Epictetus

So, after discussing  abit about the application of (a qualitative analogy of) Newton's first law of motion, let us throw our gaze at what the second law, one of the fundamental laws of classical mechanics, has in store for us, shall we?

As I already said in my previous post, and I repeat, these 'laws' should not be thought of as scientific laws. Instead, think of them are analogies, guiding principles that can help simplify the complicated bits of life for all of us. And indeed, it is of crucial importance to think of ways in which we can cope up with this mad frenzy called life, anyway.

Newton's second law of motion: a quick revision 

TO be honest, the second law is the actual law, among the three, because it relates one of the fundamental properties of forces and motion to easily understandable maths. On the other hand, the first and third laws are actually special cases of the second law, instead of being independent scientific findings. Nonetheless, they have their own importance.

Still, since the second law if the most important, its analogy, also, is the most important one in this series of articles.

So, the second law states "The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the magnitude of vector force applied on it, and the change in momentum aforementioned, takes place in the direction of the applied force". And thanks to its more quantitative and mathematical nature, people tend to forget it more often.

Momentum, if you're unfamiliar with the term's scientific definition, is the product of a body's mass and magnitude of velocity (speed). Qualitatively, it can be understood as the amount of motion in a body.

So, let us brush things up with a quick example. Say, player A hits the ball towards player B. Now, the ball is moving in the direction AB (A to B), and then, Player C, upon receiving the ball, kicks it towards player C. Now, the kick by player B is a force, i.e influence, and now the ball starts moving towards C, in the direction BC. Greater the force, i.e force of the kick by player B, faster is the ball's speed as it rolls towards C, and vice versa.

Of course, I kept things as simple as possible, so this visualization may not be 100% accurate, but it serves its purpose alright, in our case at least.

Now, this is the general form of the law, but a more specific form, as it is commonly understood in the domain of observation of classical mechanics (i.e the visible world around us, neither too small, nor too big), it is simplified to this statement: "The acceleration (rate of change of velocity) of a moving body is directly proportional to the magnitude of force applied on it". As you might recall, from your middle school lessons, F ∝ ma, or F = ma, the first form generalizing into the second, thanks to a careful choice of units. 

Obviously, F => Force, m => mass of the body and a => acceleration. For bodies moving at speeds much less than the speed of light, the change in mass (due to motion) is negligible, and so this is the approximate form of Newton's second law of motion. 

Okay, now let us consider the philosophical implications that this magnificent, yet simple, law holds for us. 

What's a good life, according to the Stoics?

I began this article, as you've noted, with a quote by Epictetus. There, he tells us first to devise our principles of living properly, and then follow them, unfailingly, to the best of our capabilities. It is immediately understandable, that there is an inextricable link between good life and good habits. 

Zeno, the founder of our grand school of Stoicism, famously remarked "Happiness is the good flow of life". It clarifies, therefore, that a good life is no still, static state of perfection. That would be a Utopian conception, of an unattainable state of self-sufficiency, omnipotence and omniscience, and such a state is only possible for God, hypothetically speaking. 

Ah, he got it right.

Then, what is a good life? It's a dynamic state, a journey that uplifts us continuously, making each day better than the previous day. It's a journey, that brings us closer and closer, and yet closer to perfection. Maybe that perfection is unattainable (after all, we aren't sages yet), but it matters not, does it? WHat matters, instead, is how well we fare against our own past selves. Thus, when we live a good life, we prosper, bloom and evolve, in the proper sense of these words. 

In the Upanishads, we find the ancient Rishis of India chant:  

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय । 

i.e "Lead us from Unreality (of Transitory Existence) to the Reality (of the Eternal Self), 
Lead us from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),Lead us from the Fear of Death to the Knowledge of Immortality"

(This reveals, yet again, that the ancient sages of India were no strangers to Stoicism. Although they had referred to it using different names, the art of living was equally revered by. and contributed to by the ancient Aryans, as it was, by the Hellenistic philosophers). 

It is, therefore, quite logical to assume that good practices can help us live a good life. In fact, the very description of the Sage as an ideal role model to follow, is a method to maWhat can F = ma tell us about our lifestyle? ke sure that we never, ever give up on improving ourselves. And even the modern philosophy of transhumanism agrees with this. The very first element of Transhumanism is boundless expansion, the state of constant positive increment. 

F = ma in this regard

Now, I believe we can successfully relate this state of uplifting ourselves to what is known as state of uniform acceleration in mechanics, i.e when a body moves in a direction, under the influence of a constant thrust of force acting on it. 

As we see, F = ma. So, Force = mass x acceleration. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity in the body, so a positive acceleration (such as 5 m/s^2) tells us that the speed of the body increases with time. And a negative acceleration means, the body is slowing down, gradually. 

Considering our scenario, it is evident that we can to speed up, i.e improve. So, we'll have to maintain a positive acceleration. And that means, a > 0. So, since F is proportional to a, F > 0, i.e we'll have to maintain a constant push, in the direction in which we want to move. 

So, when we develop a good habit, such as drinking enough water each day (more than 2.5 L, at least), or start learning a foreign language, we need to keep the habit under constant surveillance (sorry, victims of NSA) of the Prosokhe, our state of constant attention and conscious alertness. Neuroscience tells us, that it takes 3 weeks to make/break a habit, after all. 

For all of you who are sitting uninspired, waiting for some miracle to happen, understand that the true miracle is the result of our own choices, decisions and their implementation through our actions. No matter what our current state is, be it a prosperous, happy and content one or a state of bleak hopelessness, we CAN always improve things! Because no matter what a body's speed is, it can always move faster. 

Unless it has reached the speed of light, but that's a separate issue, since nothing can actually reach the speed of light, unless it has a rest mass of zero. To simplify things, let us denote the speed of light, c, as something analogous to the state of the Sage - unattainable, yet a great role-model to follow. 

So, what does the second law translate to, for the Stoics? Well, something like this: 

"If you want to develop a good habit, practice the habit daily and routinely, because your art of practising will make you better at it, each day". 

Sounds cheesy, eh? I'm no Virgil or Bankim, sadly. But you get the gist anyway, I hope. :P 

What happens if we stop? 

Okay, so whenever any body moves on the surface of another, there's the force of friction opposing the motion. This force of friction can be many types - rolling friction, kinetic friction, static friction, etc. Differentiating between them is beyond the scope of this post. It's just that friction is the antithesis of motion, so it'll always try to slow your body down. 

Now, when a force F acts on the body in the direction of its motion, another force f (the force of friction) simultaneously acts on it in the opposite direction. This force f = μ_k x N, where N is the force of normal reaction (usually, equal to the weight of the body) and μ_k is the coefficient of kinetic friction, a characteristic property associated with various surfaces. 

Yes, Prosokhe is the need of the hour!

For our analogy, when F contributes to the motion of the body, f opposes it. So, the net force acting on the body is ( F - f ). So, to make sure that the body moves, the force on it must be greater than the force of friction opposing it. 

If we want to live a good habit, therefore, we must act against our mind, when it tells us to stop, to give the thing up. And why is the mind telling us that? Because it is untrained. Because the general nature of any system is to generate entropy, i.e chaos, with time. And idleness, let me remind you all, is death. Life is dynamic, so we must be dynamic as well, to prosper. 

The idleness we face in the form of sentiments like "Ah, feeling too sleepy today. I'll definitely go for morning walks from tomorrow ;) ", "Oops! It's too late today, to finish that report. Ok, how 'bout day after tomorrow? :D ", "That extra dosa can't hurt my diet plans. And I am nothing if not a connoisseur :) ", are antagonistic, devotedly, to the process of development. That's why, Epictetus and Marcus remind us, time and again, to strictly follow our self-established rules, and not walk away from it, even for a single day. 

So, when we combine this with the Stoic analogy to Newton's first law of motion, we have the following Stoic principle in store for us: 

"Choose only good influences, and turn them into habits. Once you do that, never, even for a day, stop practising those habits, and you'll prosper, gradually but inevitably" 

Image credits 

Pixable, www.freegreatpicture.com, Wikipedia

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Stoic principles analogous to Newton's laws of motion - Part I

I have read about the application of Newton's laws, qualitatively, in the genres such as self-improvement and self-help. And like every other person on this planet, I too, took the liberty of drafting my own version of these laws, for the singular purpose of relating my Stoic experience in words. The result - the Newtonian laws of Stoicism, for want of a better name.

Image credits: http://organizationalphysics.com/

So, before you accuse me of using pseudoscience to present my views, let me stress that these 'laws' are not truly aimed to be scientific. Instead, these are like the 22 non-negotiable laws of wellness, that Greg Anderson documented in his famous book of the same name. In fact, the 'law' here should be interpreted as a helpful generalization, that aims to become a guiding principle in our journey to become better Stoics, a.k.a better masters of our own emotions and behaviour. I admit that I am using the term rather loosely, of course.

Newton's 3 laws of motion, a quick revision 

Newton's laws helped establish what later became Newtonian Mechanics, or Classical Mechanics, the branch of mechanics that deals with precise mathematical descriptions of forces and motion in the visible world around us. In fact, Newtonian mechanics can be seen as an effective theory of the more accurate and precise Quantum Mechanics.

This isn't a scientific paper, still here's the 3 laws, once again:

1. Unless an external force is applied, a body tends to retain its state of rest or uniform motion along a straight line forever. 

2. The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the force applied on it, and the change in momentum takes place in the direction of the applied force.

3. To every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction, i.e forces always exist in pairs. 



Now, let us discuss the Stoic analogies that we can derive from these purely mechanical observations.

Newton's first law for the Stoics 

We know it well, from observation, that when a system is at rest, it will never automatically move, by itself, unless a force acts on it. This force, therefore, is the thrust that causes the body to shift its position. Now, the force here can be considered an influence, and we can see the connection between simple mechanical descriptions of nature, and our more complex lives.

As we advance into each new day, we meet a number of influences - political views, religious sentiments, generalizations made by others in the form of sexism, racism, nationalism, casteism (in India) etc. These influences are neutral, since they can not be categorized into good and bad categories. But, the way they impact us, can be good or bad.

Most of the time, misinformed generalizations are the root of hatred and chaos. Consider the following statements:

Men are smarter and stronger than women! So, all women MUST submit to the will of their husbands, for women are inferior! 

Shudras are the worst people in the Indian society, while Brahmins alone can liberate the country from suffering! Long live the Indian caste system! 

Adolf Hitler was a Nazi! And he was also Austrian! So all Austrians are Nazis! 

See, how incredibly stupid, misinformed and offensive do these statements seem to us! A true Stoic would simply laugh at them, but not all of us are true Stoics. So, for example, most Brahmins in India would agree with the second statement, and this has been the cause of much suffering in India.

(I am a Brahmin myself, so far as the infamous caste system is strictly considered. But I have identified the errors in this system, and therefore, I chose to be a rational human first, and not a Brahmin)

Influences - invisible forces that shape our societies

"The key is to keep company only with
people who uplift you, whose presence
calls forth your best" - Epictetus

Negative influences also come in a variety of other ways, in the form of yellow journalism in the news-media, superstitions, quick judgements and conclusions and so on. But how, and why, should we categorize these influences into positive and negative ones?

It's simpler than it looks. Consider the motion of a body, that moves from south to north, in a straight line. Now, any northward force for the ball will accelerate it in its direction of motion, while any southward force will do the opposite. Thus, relative to the direction of the body's motion, all S-N (south to north) forces are positive, while all N-S (north to south) forces are negative.

Likewise, relative to our motion in life, i.e gradual evolution into rational, benevolent and intelligent beings guided by reason, some of these influences are negative, while others are positive.

Stoicism itself is a great example of a positive influence - it teaches us to rely on our ability to reason and judge, rather than jump to conclusions blindly. Let us not be like Hodur in the Norse mythology, the blind god who was tricked by Loki into throwing a sharpened mistletoe towards Baldur, the god of the sun, thereby killing the latter. The world around us is dark, intellectually speaking, but as stars light up the night sky, the torch of reason lights our way along the dark road.

Zeno instructed us to live in accordance, and later, Chrysippus and others told us to live in accordance with Nature. And judging from our past and present, it is easy to see that nature intends us to follow the path of reason, because reason just works. Science, technology, mathematics, engineering, economics etc are all fuelled by neutral observations and objective reasoning. So, reason is the tool that we should utilize, in choosing and categorizing the influences, those invisible forces that shape the society.

Types of influences 

Influences are of many types. A few basic examples are:

1. An opinion, public or individual.

2. A conclusion or judgement, that slowly develops into a view.

3. Another person, whose behaviour influences your own.

4. A book, movie, news article etc.

5. Things our elders tell us

So, what's the 'law'?

I am a practitioner, but no master, of Stoicism. And I am no prolific writer either, let me admit that beforehand. As such, take the analogy, stated below, with a pinch of salt:

A. The world is full of influences, some of which accelerate our progress, while the rest retard it. 

B. As forces cause bodies to change their state of rest or uniform motion, influences - in the forms of beliefs, practices, habits etc - have the potential to change our behaviour, views, judgements, mental states of happiness or sorrow.

C. We have the power to accept or ignore influences in our lives. 

D. As rational beings, it is our duty to accept only those influences, that can help accentuate and accelerate our progress. 

And thus, the natural conclusion, that follows from the premises above, is:

"Choose only those influences that aid you in your progress, and reject the rest" 

Practical examples

Let us, now, turn to some practical applications of this statement. Consider sleep. Nature intends us to sleep properly at night, to regain our energy, stamina and cognitive resources for the next day. But now, there are late night TV shows, computer games, night-long parties, night-clubs and bars, that can help us in staying awake through the night.

Not a positive influence, right?

Many people, especially youngsters, develop this habit of staying up till 1 or 2 AM. The result? They get up late, tired and irritated. Having been a victim of the same practice, I saw how my own cognitive processes took a hit, following a midnight gaming or chatting session. Thus, since this particular practice, staying up till late, is against what is intended by nature, it is also against my progress as a human being.

Thankfully, I have the power to reject this habit. It is widely known in neuroscience, that habits and practices have the power to restructure our brains, and it takes as less as 21 days to build/destroy a habit. So, well within a month, those of us that suffer from insomnia can cure themselves, without the need of drugs or medical help, if they only follow a few handy rules, such as, turning their consumer electronic devices (tablets, gaming consoles, computers, smartphones etc) off after 9 PM, taking a shower before going to bed, doing enough physical exercise and eating healthy, cutting down on caffeine after evening, saying NO to daytime naps exceeding 30 minutes, etc.

Another good example is smoking. Our lungs evolved to inhale air, and not carcinogenic particles found in cigarette smoke. So, no matter how good or stylish it feels to smoke, it is against nature, and against our own progress, to smoke. So, smoking is a negative influence.

What are some positive influences? 

Any good habit can be a positive influence. Reading Stoic philosophy, as Seneca and Epictetus would agree, is one such influence, since it helps make ourselves more rational, virtuous and understanding individuals.

Going for a morning/evening stroll daily, for example, is another example. It helps us get enough exercise, gives us some time to enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer, and enhances our physical bodies nonetheless.

Likewise, anything and everything, that can help us stay in greater agreement with nature, can be regarded as a positive influence. And as some forces accelerate the motion of a body, positive influences can accelerate our progress. 


(To be continued in parts II and III)

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