Stoicism is a philosophy that is
designed to maximize the amount of positivity in our lives while also decreasing
the amount of negativity as well. At its basics, the philosophy says that we
should not worry about the things that we cannot control but instead, we should
worry about the things that we can control such as our happiness and
perceptions on life. Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and studier of Stoic ideology,
once said “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the
thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke
at any moment.” I’m sure that we know many people like this that have
the sort of “go with the flow” mentality. To me, Stoic ideology is best
described through the life, paintings and quotes of Bob Ross. Though he may not
be a philosopher, many of Bob Ross’s actions throughout the decades have mimicked
that of Stoic ideology. Through his paintings, quotes and even life before painting,
Ross demonstrates stoicism in its purest form and encourages others to do the same.
Bob Ross was born in Dayton Beach, Florida on October 29th,
1942. At the age of 18, Ross joined the Air Force and was stationed at the
Eielson Air Force Base around the area of Fairbanks, Alaska. During the time
there, he was hired as a medical records technician and eventually grew to the
rank of Master Sargent. However, Ross hated the position, saying, "I
was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your
bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work. The job requires you to
be a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it. I promised myself that if I
ever got away from it, it wasn't going to be that way anymore." Ross
decided that once he got out of the military, he would take up a career in
painting, inspired by the first snow and mountains he saw in Alaska. Through
this moment, we see that Bob Ross had control on what he wanted his life to be
like or, in other words, what he would do to live a better life. He chose to
get out of the military and pursue a career in something that made him happy;
he didn’t want to have a career in something that paid well but made him miserable.
Ross has even gone on record saying that painting helped him get through the
military because it allowed him to do something that he had control over.
“Everybody needs a Friend”: Methods of Painting
The Joys of Painting, his painting television show, allowed Bob Ross to not only carry out
his dream career, but also allowed him to share his painting techniques and
philosophy with the world. When he finishes the background, he will often put
things in front of it such as trees, bushes or cabins. Although, he occasionally
will not describe his paintings as paintings; he will often call them “worlds”.
I believe this is because he is creating something that he has complete control
over, from where trees and bushes go to how many of them there are. He controls
his feelings too and puts them into his paintings. For example, when adding another
tree next to a tree, he will often say that “Even trees need friends sometimes”
which shows that he is using his emotions to control how he views adding things
to the canvas. He could have just said, “If you need another tree, just make
another one.” Instead, he encourages people to create their own worlds through
painting. Almost all of his quotes point toward a Stoic ideology such as:
This phrase not only applies to Ross’s paintings, but also
to the viewer’s life. We have to remember that, at its core, the Joys of
Painting is a learning program, but people don’t have to just take away painting
techniques. In this quote, Ross is saying that he chooses to view things that
are done wrongly as things that can still add to the overall picture and can be
improved upon later. In life, we all make mistakes and we can choose whether or
not we let it get to us as a mistake or if we choose to view it as something that
allows us to see that we are fallible as humans and we can improve our conditions
later on. Ross also enjoyed taking care of small animals like squirrels and racoons.
He chose to be a driving force in that animal’s life so that it can learn to survive
and it’s something that will help that animal in the long run.
In conclusion, while Bob Ross didn’t
claim to be a big philosopher, he had a lot of incite on life and how to live
it to its fullest potential.
Questions:
Where was Bob Ross born?
What is one thing that Bob Ross
would put into his paintings as he added things?
Discussion Question
I have a glimmer of what you mean by calling Bob Ross a Stoic, but it would help if you could link some of his statements more directly to a few more of those of the old Stoics (in addition to the Marcus Aurelius quote you mention).
ReplyDeleteChoosing to see our mistakes as happy accidents does illustrate a kind of inward stoical turn, but sometimes we have to concede a mistake in the past as just unhappy, and move on. Would Bob agree?
And of course, a major career choice like leaving the military and taking up painting is more than just an internal adjustment of attitude. I applaud anyone who has the courage and good fortune to be able to do that, but I wouldn't see it as an illustration of stoicism exactly. What if Bob had been forced by circumstance to remain a drill sargent? Could he have seen THAT as a happy mistake?
I agree that Bob is a refreshing and inspiring (and inspired) figure, I just wonder if his temperament and approach to painting and life quite fit the classic stoical mold which takes greater pains to conform to external necessity. When he speaks of creating an imaginative world entirely within his control, isn't he indicating a strong impulse and desire NOT to have to accept a world he can't control? Wouldn't that make him un-stoical?
Cameron Ghalami
ReplyDeleteVery interesting a great topic! Bob has a great philosophy and i think if many people adapted to his mindset then we would be a society with much less depression. People need to worry less about the past and look for ways to improve.
Yeah and view your mistakes as a way to improve upon your life
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ReplyDeleteI like this post because I always loved watching Bob Ross when I was growing up. His attitude he had towards life can actually be an inspiration!
I really love your choice of topic! Bob Ross has an intriguing philosophy that many look over and take for granted. I think you did a great job emphasizing where he can definitely be inspiring to others!
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ReplyDeleteBob Ross is such a good person to do a philosophy report on because he has such a solid mind-set through-out his entire life and career. I would love to follow Bob's philosophy because it would make me a happier person in life and be more of an optimist.
Choosing to report on Bob Ross was a really interesting choice, but I'm not sure I agree with your take on his "stoic" philosophy. I just don't see his famous quote as being necessarily about accepting the mistakes so much as they are about moving past it and kind of ignoring it all together. I do have an unpopular opinion of Ross' work though so I may just be interpreting the quote negatively.
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