PG/PG Buzz columnist Cardsharp looks for inspiration to see him through these turbulent and unsettling times and turns to the ancient and wise ancient Greek philosopher, Zeno of Citium.
Given the weirdness of a current situation it seems perfectly in keeping, in Cardsharp’s befuddled mind anyway, to find solace in the philosophies of Zeno, so what if he was from the third century BC, of course he had something to say – and we now have the time to listen. Old Zeno was the founder of a system of beliefs called ‘Stoicism’ the nub of which is that to understand the world is to understand that happenings are part of nature’s plan and our part within it. And we can only do one’s part in it, by working together and treating others fairly. In fact, Zeno thought that virtue is the only good force for human beings seeing external things like health, wealth and pleasure as not good or bad in themselves, but have value as “material for virtue to act upon”. And as such, destructive emotions result from errors of judgement.
One of the most famous adherents of Stoicism was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelian (as portrayed superbly by Richard Harris in the ‘gore and sandals’ film epic, Gladiator). In that blockbuster, he was murdered by his son, Commodius (played by Joaquin Phoenix), so a fat lot of good it did him! The fact that Joaquin later turned out to be a bit of a ‘Joker’ recently was doubly ironic! (Cardsharp acknowledges only film buffs will get this latter reference.)
To Cardsharp’s mind the philosophy of stoicism, of which its more modern-day equivalent is the traditional British ‘stiff-upper lip’, its learnings have a resonance to those in the greeting card industry, some 2,000 years on.
Perhaps the most valuable stoical lesson we can all take from it, is that we must focus on what only we can control, our own actions, our own beliefs and our own thoughts. And quash a grievance and ‘blame culture’. ‘The government should have acted earlier’. ‘Its belief in the herd immunity approach was misguided’. ‘Boris should have attended those very early Cobra meetings’. ‘China is responsible for this all and should pay.’ Whether or not there is merit in any of these aforementioned assertions, retribution at this stage is no use to anyone.
So, stoicism gives us focus by making us concentrate on doing the virtuous thing, and by focusing our mind on only the things that we can control.
Being virtuous in business is not easy or straightforward. But at present to Cardsharp’s mind it is manifesting itself in trying wherever possible to pay suppliers. Too many large or even small businesses with ample resources seem to be sitting on cash at present, when they could easily pay their suppliers that need it most. And some larger players seem to be cynically engineering a position post crisis, where they have ‘taken out’ smaller competitors. The Stoic would argue that we all, the consumer, the retailer and the supplier and manufacturer, all benefit from a vibrant, healthy and diverse greeting card industry.
A great example for the greeting card industry of the positive powers of stoicism in action is Captain Tom. His heroic efforts in doing those laps of his garden on his walking frame in the weeks before his centenary, not only led to £millions being raised for charity, but 140,000 greeting cards to be sent, which gave the greeting card industry the kind of positive publicity and visibility not seen for years. Captain Tom was a ‘Stoic’ even if he did not ‘Knoic’!
Cardsharp reflects, as we come out of this awful time, and card retailers start to open up again, there are bound to be more ups than downs. Social distancing of customers is going to be a nightmare, as will be the difficult decisions about un-furloughing, or even laying off loyal employees. Footfall is bound to be down for many months to come. Money will be tight.
So to adopt a stoic philosophy in the testing months to come, is what Cardsharp thinks we as individuals in the greeting card industry need to adopt. We must not get angry and bitter, however tempting a release it is at times. As ‘Old Zeno Baby‘ might not have said all those years ago “No need to ‘Stoic’ the fire!’”
