Flat tire in the middle of a trip? Snowy and icy roads impeding our travels? Battery runs out of juice? Shoe comes untied? Gravity? Time?
Who cares?
Only us. Certainly not the tires, not the roads, not the snow, batteries, shoes, gravity, or time. Only us.
Why? Why don’t these inanimate things or situations care about our untimely delays or annoyances, our tripping and falling, or our feelings about any of the above?
Who cares?
Only us. Certainly not the tires, not the roads, not the snow, batteries, shoes, gravity, or time. Only us.
Why? Why don’t these inanimate things or situations care about our untimely delays or annoyances, our tripping and falling, or our feelings about any of the above?
You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.”
(Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.38)
Well, it’s not only because they’re circumstances and inanimate… but because they’re outside of our control.
Getting upset and having “the feels” about situations is, at best, a waste of our emotional power, and at worst… an ego-driven attempt at self-soothing.
So, what do we do about situations and circumstances?
We deal with the tire. We watch the snow fall, and do the best with what we have in the moment. We replace the battery, or practice patience until we can. We bend down and re-tie our shoes. We accept that gravity and time are beyond our control.
Our responses and how much we surrender to our emotions, though, are well within our control…
… and so, we control ourselves.
(See y’all tomorrow)
Getting upset and having “the feels” about situations is, at best, a waste of our emotional power, and at worst… an ego-driven attempt at self-soothing.
So, what do we do about situations and circumstances?
We deal with the tire. We watch the snow fall, and do the best with what we have in the moment. We replace the battery, or practice patience until we can. We bend down and re-tie our shoes. We accept that gravity and time are beyond our control.
Our responses and how much we surrender to our emotions, though, are well within our control…
… and so, we control ourselves.
(See y’all tomorrow)
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