This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
In my Edinburgh apartment, I was staring at my brand-new Master of Science diploma – an achievement I was rather happy of, worth hundreds of hours of reading and reflecting and speaking. Yet a nagging thought crawled into my mind.
Only later was I able to give what exactly was worrying me a definition.
You see, my study, my work, and my hobbies (reading and playing piano among them) chained me either to a table in my room or to a table in a library – in a word, they kept me inside, motionless, and, to be completely honest, quite incapable in the situations drastically different from those I was nurtured in. Hence when I decided to invite my friends for a hiking trip, it struck me that I had no idea how to behave if things went wrong. No mobile network? I am lost. Car is broken? I am stuck. Someone sprained her ankle or suddenly felt unwell? I had no idea how to help her.
Outside, in the “real world”, I felt helpless. And since I am quite old-fashioned, it didn’t correspond to my vision of what a gentleman should be.
An important part of my personality was missing, and it made me feel incomplete.
The Greeks, it turned out, had a special word for an opposite state of what I felt – for one of harmony. Our natural goal as humans, according to Aristotle, is to reach a higher state of existence, called Eudaimonia. Translated as “flourishing” or “well-being,” it involves living a balanced life that integrates intellectual, spiritual, and physical aspects. This approach is promoting self-improvement without the need to resort to extreme measures.
Socrates, according to Xenopohon’s The Memorabilia of Socrates, expressed similar opinions on how Eudaimonia should be manifested:
“No citizen has any right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training: it is part of his profession as a citizen to keep himself in good condition, ready to serve his state at a moment’s notice”.
Indeed, we should not be sedentary scholars nor mindless brutes; only a person well-balanced in his development can be truly happy and become an indispensable part of society.
Following an urgent need to act, I asked myself: what are the hardest things I should be able to do when trouble strikes and things are truly bad?
The answer led me to studying emergency first aid, which turned out to be one of the most eye-opening experiences that shaped my personality. Not only now I am not walking past a person in need, but the way I tend to people’s needs and even how I see the world has changed.
I am still a writer and a scholar, appreciating art and beauty of the things appreciated in the best of times. At the same time, you will often meet me in the local gym, and sometimes on an early morning run. It is also time for me to refresh and deepen my expertise and receive an internationally recognised qualification in Rescue and Casualty Care for first responders.
Your path is, of course, going to be different. I have no doubt, though, that once you answer the question “what is my personality lacking to become truly well-balanced?” and start acting on achieving Eudaimonia, you will step onto the most gratifying path of your life.
