Jerry Seinfeld continues to be in the news, but this time in the unlikely role as a student of philosophy. He has been reading Marcus Aurelius, as he recently informed a tv show host  an activity which has been helped him to understand the impermanence of everything and everyone we know, and the futility of fretting about things we cannot change. 

The résumé of Marcus Aurelius is most impressive. He was a philosopher, an author, an emperor, and, with his wife, Faustina, a father of 14 children. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome. His reign (161-180 AD) marked the end of a period of internal tranquility. Meditations, his most influential book, is the cornerstone of stoic philosophy. It offers common- sense aphorisms intended to help people achieve peace of mind and self-control. Among these we find the following: “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.” “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.” “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.” The good emperor was concerned about self-control, but not sanctity. 

Seinfeld wholeheartedly agrees with the emperor’s philosopher. Fretting about things you cannot control is futile. “You should focus on what you are doing,” he says, “get better at what you are doing. Everything else is a waste of time.”  

Jerry Seinfeld is an exceedingly talented human being. He is far more than a comedian. He has the uncanny knack of looking over what most people overlook. He is a man of rare insight. Yet, he could find a better philosophical tutor than Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism is not an easy philosophy to put into practice. Furthermore, it is self-centered and accords powers of self-control that appear unrealistic. Of his 14 children, 9 passed away before he died at age 58. Surely, the deaths of these children must have shaken him. Aurelius does offer the option of suicide, however, if things get out of control. 

Stoicism has been criticized for wrapping its disciples in a cocoon of self-centeredness and ignoring the problems of the world. It appears to lack a commitment to social justice while proposing an iron clad self-discipline that is unrealizable. Concerning pain, a typical stoic response was: Si longus levis; si gravis brevis (if it is long, it will be light; if it is grave, it will be brief). Always think on the bright side. 

From a Christian perspective, stoicism is not the road to sanctity. Yet, stoicism and Christianity have something in common. They are equally opposed to worrying. As we are advised in Philippians 4:6-7: “.Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” 

The salient difference between stoicism and Christianity is prayer. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius dispenses with the need for prayer, which is tantamount to dispensing with the need for God. It responds to a philosophical problem that is universal, namely, how should we deal with things we cannot control. The stoic attempt is to shut them out; the Christian is concerned about them but appeals his case to God through prayer. Saint Padre Pio has given us a simple phrase that has become very popular: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” God, not us, is in control of the universe. Prayer is infinitely more effective than worry. The stoics were right, but did not go far enough. Hearing  the words of Jerry Seinfeld one may feel the same way. A good start, but there are wiser philosophers who offer a more complete philosophy that you may be ignoring. Please do not allow Marcus Aurelius to be your final philosopher. 

“Do not fear [anything],” Isaiah writes (41:10, “for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].” 

Both the Old and the New Testaments are advising us to trust more in God than in ourselves. In order to accept this advice, we must overcome the pride of taking care of business all by ourselves. Worry never solved a problem. There are problems that we can solve on our own. But there are problems beyond our reach that we cannot solve. Then, in calling upon God through prayer, we obviate the need to worry, activity that is designed to end in frustration. 

The way to peace is not through worry but through prayer. This attitude allows us to be concerned about the troubles of the world without useless worrying or despairing. As Padre Pio points out, prayer brings about hope. We put the things we cannot control into the hands of God and stop worrying. And then we are the recipients of peace and hope. 

Existential anxiety is a common malaise in a world without God. Viktor Frankl speaks of the “existential vacuum” that people experience when they find no meaning in life. They become desperate when they realize that their worrying is in vain. Yes, as Seinfeld reminds us, we should focus on doing a better job of what we are doing. But stoicism is not the answer for members of the medical profession, to take but one example, who must be profoundly concerned about their patients. Their skills should be complemented by their prayers. The same can be said of everyone’s relationship with his neighbor. We should add to our concerns not our worries, but our prayers.