Slings and Arrows
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them
William Shakespeare probably contributed more words and phrases to the English language than anyone else in history. His plays and poems recorded these new turns of speech so that we can see them now, hundreds of years later.
The quote I picked out today is from Hamlet. Here, Shakespeare introduces a little thought experiment for us.
On one hand, you can passively endure the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Life throws a lot of these at you: challenges, obstacles, drama, and all of the things that make life difficult. The phrase “outrageous fortune” lets you know right away that life isn’t fair. Terrible things can happen to good people.
This strategy can best be summarized as, “Suck it up, buttercup!”
On the other hand, to take Arms against a Sea of troubles conjures actively resisting these forces. This could be very ugly, and it could even mean death for the speaker, Prince Hamlet.
Presumably, death would end this Sea of troubles, but the speaker goes on to speculate that it might not.
Shakespeare taps into something universal and timeless here. Life’s misfortunes are constant, impossible to escape entirely. The imagery of “slings and arrows” lets you know that you’re constantly under attack, never free from what life throws at you.
Life is tough right from the start, and many of “slings and arrows” are from the natural world. Tiny microbes and enormous beasts alike conspire to make surviving a challenge.
While there’s plenty out there in the natural world that is trying to kill you, we’ve managed to also become our own enemies. I’m sure that some of what Shakespeare meant by “outrageous fortune” referred to humans doing shady things to one another.
So, the question he poses here has everything to do with deciding which of these two paths to take. Should you stoically accept that there will be ugly discomfort in the world—should you accept the way things are? Or, should you fight to change things, and risk death, additional discomfort, or personal humiliation?
The point that Shakespeare makes—the one I really want to drive home today—is that either path is going to be tough. Whether you choose activism or stoicism, you’re going to face either outrageous fortune or a sea of troubles.
One way to interpret this dilemma is that you shouldn’t be deterred from taking action just because you’re afraid of the consequences. You’re going to have challenges whether you do something or not, so you might decide to burn the ships and move forward with a bold decision, like starting a business instead of working for someone else.
You might be able to end your sea of troubles, Shakespeare implies, with activism. Unfortunately, “by opposing end them” could also mean death, which would also be a way your troubles could end.
My take, then, is that we need a balanced, careful approach before taking any drastic action. Punk rock gave me the courage to take arms against seas of troubles in my own life, to stand up for what I felt was right by changing my appearance drastically, and by excluding myself from certain social circles.
30 years later, I have the other side of the scale balanced with stoicism and acceptance that there are some things I can’t control. I know that my actions can have butterfly effects, and I know that the onus is on me to make sure that, whatever action I take, it has the desired consequence.
Jiu jitsu has given me tremendous patience under certain circumstances. If you move at the wrong time, without the proper preconditions being met, you’re toast on the mat. This patience sometimes allows me to consider possible moves for a little longer, and sometimes I make better decisions as a result.
Sometimes. I’m a human being, after all. What about your own life—have you found a balance between the slings and arrows, and the sea of troubles? How do you navigate activism and stoicism in your own life?
As much as possible, I follow Commander Hannibal's quote when I encounter a problem:
"Aut inveniam viam aut faciam" (or "Aut viam inveniam aut faciam") - "I shall either find a way or make one.
Then, my general Philosophy of life to be Brave and remember that we are too worried about what others would think rather than taking action, confronting problems, and being brave after spending time to think over about what I am doing, which is very well described in Scott Galloway article ( https://www.profgalloway.com/quitting-time/ ) the form of Carl Sagan quote and Scott’s extension to it:
Carl Sagan’s insight helps liberate me from that angst: “We are mites on a plum on a planet circling an unremarkable star on the outskirts of an ordinary galaxy which contains 400 billion other stars and is one of 100 billion other galaxies.” Nobody you care about or who cares about you will be alive in 100 years. Nobody will remember your successes or failures. To let fear devour your short time here is to not understand the most basic law of the universe: your insignificance.
I normally just pretend I don't see the problems, put my hands on my ears, and go "Lalalala, I can't hear you." Otherwise known as the Toddler Maneuver. It's...not as effective as it may sound.