When anything happens to you, always
remember to turn to yourself and ask what faculty you have to deal with it.
If you see a beautiful boy or a
beautiful woman, you will find continence the faculty to exercise there; if
trouble is laid on you, you will find endurance; if ribaldry, you will find
patience. And if you train yourself in this habit your impressions will not
carry you away.
—Epictetus,
The Handbook, Chapter 10 (tr
Matheson)
I have
attempted to fix plumbing, an old turntable, my car, and my online bank account
without knowing what I was doing, and without knowing what tools I needed to
make it right. The worst was an effort at fixing a buzz in the pickup of a
Rickenbacker bass guitar. Oh, and my taxes, I forgot about the taxes.
I have
also done the same with my own heart and mind. I may recognize that things
aren’t right in my soul, but I have no idea where to begin. It’s much like
having disassembled some sort of doohickey or thingamabob, and having no clue
what I need to put it all back together.
Those
far handier in mechanics than I know full well that one need not panic. All
that is needed is to know what’s gone wrong, and what tools are needed to fix
it.
Now many
of us will buy all sorts of expensive tools to help us in our lives. Most of
these end up in the garage or in the basement, along with all the exercise
equipment, because we didn’t really need them.
All the
tools we really need to improve our hearts and minds are already there within
us, given to us by Nature itself.
I always
start by trying to remember that I am fitted as standard with the equipment
necessary to practice the four cardinal virtues.
Am I
feeling the desire to control, possess, or consume? I can choose to practice
the habit of temperance. This is not self-denial, but the ability to consider
what moves my passions with a concern for what is good for both others and for myself.
Am I
feeling fear in the face of a danger? I can choose to practice the habit of
courage. This is not recklessness, but the ability to consider what threatens
me by recalling what is properly my human good, to live with true conviction in
action.
Am I
feeling the need to be selfish and greedy? I can choose to practice the habit
of justice. This is not wastefulness, but the ability to consider that what is
good for me, and what is good for others, is never in conflict, but must be in
harmony.
Finally,
am I feeling confused and without direction? I can choose to practice the habit
of wisdom. This is not intellectual posturing, but the ability to know that what
is true and false requires nothing more than an open-minded humility about what
is real.
No
toolkit I can buy will ever beat the one I was already given.
Written in 12/2011
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