Meet Epictetus

Greek Stoic thinker Epictetus(50-138) believed humans are disturbed by the irrational and attracted to the rational. With a calm psyche the endless possibilities of the ratio become visible.

A layman in the art of life is discontented with what he has and spends his time on bodily matters such as drinking, overeating and sexual actions. A good man tolerates everything with bravery, makes the best of his life.

The aim in life is to desire nothing but self control, freedom and contentment.

Epictetus divided reality in two crucial categories: what is in and what is beyond our power. The only good is the accurate insight in what we can and can not control. Good and evil are only present in our opinions about events, not in the events themselves.

All unpleasant impressions should be analyzed on accuracy. Fear and confusion are caused by our negative opinions on what is beyond our power. Once an individual realizes that things are beyond his power, they can not affect him anymore.

Each individual is responsible for his sadness or negative emotions. This means we can influence and control our own mind. When we engage in avoiding negative reactions which equal negative emotions, we are able to positively want each and every event. We can always be free, righteous, reliable, honest and thoughtful.

Each striving(orexis: everyone strives for the good) is fixed on the good while avoidance(ekkisis: avoidance of the bad) focuses on the bad. Success in striving and avoidance leads to happiness. Apatheia, a necessity to live a serene life, occurs when the well balanced, developed mind bans negative emotions and is successful in striving.

There's one way to happiness: to stop worrying about matters beyond our will. The essence of a happy life is to want things as they are instead of what you would like them to be. A wise man wants to accept. The elimination of desire results in freedom of the mind. The renunciation of what is not within one's moral choice leads to imperturbability.

" All human beings seek the happy life, but many confuse the means with that life itself. Wisdom is revealed through action, not talk".

A view on the concept of emptiness

In Western culture, emptiness has a negative connotation as it is often associated with depression. 

In Eastern society, the Buddhist concept of emptiness is known as śūnyatā,  a key element to liberate the illusive mind from mind labeling and suffering. 

The ideas of emptiness, alienation, boredom, anxiety, suffering and despair were crucial elements in postwar existentialist philosophy and literature. 

Although it has historical roots in Greek and medieval philosophy, the fundaments of existentialism derive from German philosopher Martin Heidegger's Being and Time(1927).  

This philosophical movement is centered on the recognition of individual existence. 

The absurd, indifferent universe has no intrinsic meaning or purpose. Living in a crowded city, performing work without a passion for it, superficial entertainment, ... enhance the empty, unhappy feeling of human beings.

In contrast to "Pour soi ", Sartre described "être en soi" as a self deceiving state of inauthentic existence, in which an individual avoids responsibility and the freedom of choice. 

Existentialists believed all individuals should face emptiness and be responsible for their actions, by choosing and shaping their own destinies. As soon as a person accepts the concept of emptiness, he will accept the responsibility to live an authentic life by exploring his own possibilities. 

In order to understand human existence, authenticity is necessary. Responsibility, autonomy, commitment and integrity are all necessary ingredients for a meaningful self chosen life. Self-defining individuals freely choose which projects they engage in. These projects of self- understanding reveal the meaning of existence and one's identity. 

As Jean Paul Sartre said: "Existence precedes essence".  
The essence is what we make of ourselves, what we choose to be, who we become.

Keep it real

Hip hop music is not restricted to wordplay, flow, beats and rhymes. It represents freedom, righteousness, equality, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and tolerance.


A hip hop artist remains in quest for facts, peace, unity, love and fun.
 (The Roots and Bahamadia, push up your lighter: I' m living life within a labyrinth of nonsense, stimulating the mind, inclined to rap about facts I never fake facts)

 A real life MC can only be credible when he's telling the truth. Honesty and pride are essential aspects to earn respect.
 ( Mind power, A Tribe Called Quest: it's about your spirit...a weak foundation doesn't make a good home, reality and intelligence, see your life for what it is)

Genuine hip hop artists awe listeners by means of meaningful lyrical contents, their well reflected thoughts entering the public's ears, possibly altering their attitudes and views. This soulful rhythmic storytelling is a true inspiration for a generation.

Authentic hip hop expresses reality, messages integrity, keeps it real.

Self-determination, education and self-realization enable a clear view on the choices you make in life. To become a meaningful Master of Ceremony who teaches lessons, one needs to comprehend and master his own life, norms and values. The right attitude in life's crucial to be part of a hip hop nation.

(Jurassic 5, Get it together: I'm trying to live my life right, I don't want to lose my soul, pay with my life, you got to be your own man and handle your biz)

Hip hop's powerful freedom of speech platform voices unjust issues of racism, politics, sexism, homophobia, unfaithfulness. It analyzes socio political structures and rejects any form of prejudice and discrimination.( speak truth to power) Therefore critical thinking is a bare necessity in motivating change of the game. This goal can be obtained when expressing yourself, your opinion, your struggle and frustration in a respectful creative, cultural, original, experimental or emotive manner....

 Basically it is all about positivism, peace, living right and the significant presence of love. This is the only way this art of poetry can become food for the soul and for thought.

However some youngsters prefer the futile temptations of money, power and fame to the essence of hip hop.
Ego-driven hip hoppers vulgarize the valuable essence of music.

( A Tribe Called Quest: Phony rappers who do not write, who do not excite, you play yourself in front of your enemies, lying to no end, MC's for me make things happening, talk about a world but in a form of rapping, I got to keep it real)

 Music lovers aren't the slightest interested in cursing ghetto talk about though pimps, pussy, ho's, bimbo's, drugs, glamour and dough. All bitches want to suck my dick lines and rhyming lies are not to be considered food for the soul. That's literally called dropping shit.
 (De la Soul, Stakes is high: I'm sick of bitches shaking asses, I' m sick of talking about blunts, love for the fact of no longer loving yourself kid)

 These self-indulged ivory towers all want a piece of the pie but are not aware of the fact that they are in it for the wrong reasons. Hip hop's merely a commercial convenience to these haters, not a way of life. They are not able to keep it real or do right. If you don't care, don't talk to the snare!
 ( NWA, express yourself: not what society wants u to be, rap 4 the pop charts, exaggerate- a little fiction)

They twist the constructive bases of respect and authenticity into a foul abusive concept. In stead of talking sense, they talk nonsense to get in groupies' pants. 
 (Slum village, Forth and back: Don't make no sense, you ain't got to grab the microphone to pay your rent, too many so many so called mc's rapping, put your shit down, you can't make it happen)

 These unashamed superficial MC's utter disrespect by declaiming homophobia, violence and sexism due to the simple fact that they lack self respect and self reflection. The right of freedom of speech expires when you disrespect human rights. Hip hop creates, innovates but never denigrates.

These fools of society misuse the artistic, social, political and economic impact of music on society, forming a distorted, foul image of hip hop culture.

Moreover this prejudiced bullshitting obstructs the road of significant hip hop towards liberation of the arts. It simply perverts musical sincerity .

As I recall music's a matter of the heart, not of appearance!


(Slum Village featuring Dwele, tainted: Is it real love? Your man is doing things I can't really say, don't sound so good, it sounds tainted to me, it's the same thing in love as in music business, people smile at you when they really want to frown, that's just the way tainted folk get down, just keep it real and we'll see, keep love from being tainted)

Article written by Ann Timmermans