This past week I’ve been studying up on the origins of Stoicism, a subject I post often about. Ever since I came across the Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday I’ve worked to incorporate the practical daily wisdom of Stoicism into my life. Recently, while reading the wiki of Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, I learned that Zeno encountered Crates, the famous cynic philosopher who became his mentor, by chance. The story goes that Zeno survived a shipwreck while traveling from Phoenicia to Peiraeus, eventually ending up in Athens. There, while visiting a bookstore, he asked the owner where men like Socrates were to be found. At that moment, Crates happened to be walking by, and as they say, the rest was history.

Ironically I came across the Zeno shipwreck story within a few days of reading about another ancient shipwreck told in the Aesop fable, The Shipwreck of Simonides. While reading an essay on Stoicism by the author who writes under the pen name Quintus Curtius included in a collection titled Thirty Seven: Essays on Life, Wisdom and Masculinity, I was introduced to the fable. I’ve long been fascinated with how human beings passed down important knowledge about their history and timeless wisdom on human nature and morality through oral traditions like Aesop’s fables. Much like the biblical stories, the fables are the compilation of oral traditions eventually documented and published through various translations in hundred of languages. Like so many of us, I was introduced to Aesop’s fables through a collection of children’s books that were read to me as a child.

My initial reading of the fable coincided with an organizing and purging frenzy by my wife. Perhaps she was motivated by Marie Kondo, but I’ve been coming home every day to a pile of items we are donating or passing on to friends. Yesterday, as I was marveling at our perfectly organized closets it made me contemplate the idea of clutter and possessions. These items sitting in piles in bags in the garage were all items that once had value but are now clutter. Ironically, my wife’s efforts to clear the house of these items echoed a central message of the fable.

Shipwreck of Simonides

The learned man always contains riches within himself

Simonides, who wrote beautiful verses, in order to more easily ward off poverty, began to travel around the cities of Asia, singing the praises of notables for financial reward.

Having become wealthy by this type of compensation.

He wanted to return to his native land by sea (he was, they say, born on the island of Chios).

So he boarded a ship, which broke apart in the middle of the sea because of it's old age and a terrible storm

Some people collected their bags, others their precious things to sustain their lives.

One curious person said to Simonides:

'Simonides, you really have nothing for yourself to take?'

He said, "I already have all my things with me."

Then a few swam away, but most perished due to the weight of their possessions.

Then robbers came: they took what each man had recovered, leaving them naked.

By chance there was an ancient city near, called Clazomenae, to which the shipwrecked men made their way.

Here there happened to be a learned man, who had read the verses of Simonides, and was a great admirer of him from afar, never having met him.

Recognizing Simonides, he received him warmly, adorning him with clothing, financial support and family servants. The other shipwreck victims carried their blank slates, begging for food.

Simonides saw them and spoke: "I said my things were with me.

And what you brought away from the ship is gone.

I love this fable, for so many reasons. The beauty of stories like this is that when you read them at different times of your life they resonate for different reasons. There are so many important themes:

The value of your network and your reputation: Simonides was known because he provided value, and by providing that value he created a network and a reputation that preceded his arrival. The importance of your network can never be exaggerated, whether it’s personal or professional. Life can be uncertain. The risk of losing a job or even losing your home in a fire or becoming injured in an accident is always there. Do you have a support system? If your company decides to lay you off tomorrow do you have the resume and experience to land on your feet quickly? Who would you turn to?

“He already had his things with him”: I love this idea. The value of Simonides was not his possessions or his property, but his being. He was a man of substance, his riches were within himself. He didn’t feel the need to retrieve anything before the ship sank because he knew that those things were just items that can be replaced.

“The weight of the others possessions drown them”: In era of conspicuous consumerism, where people will wait in line on Black Friday or for the latest game system or iPhone release, this message really resonates. We feel the constant need to keep up with our neighbors and colleagues and have the latest and greatest cell phone, automobile and the biggest television. But what value do these possessions truly provide? At the end of your life will the iPhoneX really be something you’ll remember? No. You’ll remember your friends, your loved ones and your travels. You’ll remember the ups and downs of the human experience. When you die and people attend your funeral they won’t care about the one-hundred-inch television you used to watch football on. They’ll remember the person you were and the legacy you created.

The lesson of Simonides and his shipwreck is to stop focusing on things that don’t matter. Focus on what’s really important in life: family, your loved ones, your experiences. Focus on the skills you possess and are working to improve. Focus on knowledge for the sake of being a stronger and more well-rounded person. Focus on your inner resources, not your external possessions.

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