in Love of Knowledge, Meditations, Quotes, Stoicism

Freedom is not achieved by satisfying desire… – Epictetus

 

To desire is not freedom.
To want is not freedom.
To crave is not freedom.

Where is freedom?

It is in the negation of desire, want and craving. To desperately seek something is to be possessed by it. If one desires then certainly one will languish if unable to satisfy the craving. It’s not outside the real of possibility to desire a thing but never be able to acquire it. Eternal misery, is it not?

What is the remedy then? Realize that desire is prison. Realize that life is desire. Cravings that are satiated one moment will undoubtedly return. Thus, to crave things is to be indefinitely miserable.

Life is like a boat-ride across a river that one navigates on a small raft. With limited space on your ship you have to be mindful of what is useful and what is excess. Keep your baggage light for fear of risking taking on too much baggage to cause your raft to sink. Necessity over excess.

Freedom is not achieved
by satisfying desire,
but by eliminating it.
– Epictetus