First Things First
I’m currently at home on parental leave, welcoming the birth of my second child. There’s nothing like taking care of a newborn to force radical prioritization – to borrow the phrase from Stephen Covey, putting first things first. To wit, the execution of bodily functions (namely, sleeping) suddenly becomes an explicit priority. First and foremost, of course, there’s the issue of keeping this new tiny human alive and fed. And with a toddler in the house, one struggling with a cacophony of emotions (both related to the arrival of their new sibling, and the typical maelstrom of toddlerhood), parents need to take on the role of therapist as well.
In other periods of life, where circumstances provide for greater flexibility, “putting first things first” is no less important, it’s just that the imperative is easier to ignore. For whatever reason, pursuing a flourishing life is easy to procrastinate, despite the obvious benefits of equanimity and joy. Our ego struggles against the reigns that come along with wisdom, and fights us at every turn. We must actively prioritize the practices that bring about flourishing, and ideally habituate them to require less active energy in their execution. As Will Durant wrote in summation of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit.”.
This topic of prioritizing the most basic, and important, of our life imperatives keeps coming to mind as I reflect on the recent killing of George Floyd, and the associated focus on an anti-racist response to systemic injustice. I’m hesitant to write on the subject, as I’ve perceived (in some cases) the adoption of anti-racism as a branding opportunity, the very thought of which is nauseating. Yet I also recognize that quietism in the face of such a historic moment would reduce this Substack to worthlessness. Virtuousness in worklife could not be more important than it is right now.
The idea that saying “Black Lives Matter” has any sort of political risk associated with it demonstrates the tragic moment at which we find ourselves. “All Lives Matter” is disregarded for its banality, yet in an ideal world, saying “Black Lives Matter” should be equally banal. How can it be that arguing that ANYONE’S life matters is an edgy statement?
The philosophical systems which I read and in which I practice are consistent in their identifying the unity of all people, across races and creeds. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor whose Meditations is one of the most famous works of Stoicism, reminded himself “I am a single limb of a larger body” (Meditations vii.13) He further remarks that “We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower”. In the Christian tradition, all are considered one body united in Christ, as St Paul writes in 1 Corinthians “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it”. The Upanishads in the Hindu tradition emphasize the unity of all in Brahman, and likewise Buddhism emphasizes the inter-dependence of all beings and phenomena, what Vietnamese Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh calls Interbeing.
Would the left hand ignore the right hand if were suffering? Would it leave the right hand to its own devices? Or would it do everything it could to come to the aid of its own body?
As a society, putting first things first means the primacy of concern for human wellbeing at the core of all action and policy. This concern is not just the mitigation of harm, but the active support of all who are suffering injustice. We cannot flourish as individuals without pursuing virtue. And while the definition of a virtuous society is beyond the scope of this blog (although familiar to my undergrad political science major roots), I cannot imagine any ideal community that did not aim to eliminate suffering wherever possible.
Closer to the theme of this Substack, the intersection of worklife and virtue, we each must act ourselves: how is our career contributing to the good of humanity? How are we practicing Right Livelihood? Are we putting the good of the communal body first in our work, or are we advancing the needs of a single limb or part?
These questions do not bring easy answers, and must be continually asked. And if we find the answers wanting, then making a change is as difficult as it is necessary. Yet these actions are necessary to truly pursue virtue in our worklife, and to create a life that is not only flourishing for ourselves and our families, but for all sentient beings.