On astonishment for the ordinary

Surprise and gratitude

Ancient Skeptics argued that our perceptions were distorted by the frequency of events. How often something happens plays too much of a role in our judgments:

The sun is much more astonishing than a comet, but because we see the sun regularly but the comet rarely, we are so astonished at the comet as to think it a portent, but not at the sun.

Sextus Empiricus

This argument can be used for skepticism generally, but perhaps it’s best used as an argument for our judgments about what’s going well in our lives. Does the meaning of an event really depend on its regularity? Are the things we experience every day less meaningful than the novel, irregular, and surprising events in our lives?

Positive surprises can be wonderful but the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, argued that surprise reveals ignorance and indicates a mistake:

How ridiculous and what a stranger he is who is surprised at anything which happens in life.

Meditations, 12.13

Remember that as it is a shame to be surprised if the fig-tree produces figs, so it is to be surprised if the world produces such and such things of which it is productive; and for the physician and the helmsman it is a shame to be surprised, if a man has a fever, or if the wind is unfavourable.

Meditations, 8:15

When it comes to negative events, we are heavily impacted by the unanticipated. We’re most disturbed when the economy turns sour, someone mistreats us, and our plans fall through when we don’t expect it. Equally, perhaps, we give too little weight to positive events that are not novelties. The stable relationships, ordinary preferables, and common beauties of life take the back seat to the newest attraction. But don’t forget reality. As Sextus said: the sun is much more astonishing than a comet.

For such logical philosophers, the Stoics often seem to be advocating for paradoxical stances on the world. We should see everything as if for the first time and understand that there’s nothing new under the sun. Seeing the world with fresh eyes strips away false assumptions, while recognizing the world’s familiar patterns strips away the possibility of being blindsided.

The ultimate goal is to see everything. Understand what is true. If you do that, you may find you’ve been taking for granted many things worthy of both gratitude and astonishment.