Seneca, On Peace of Mind 5.4

We ought therefore, to expand or contract ourselves according as the state presents itself to us, or as Fortune offers us opportunities: but in any case we ought to move and not to become frozen still by fear.

No, he is the best man who, though peril menaces him on every side and arms and chains beset his path, nevertheless neither impairs nor conceals his virtue: for to keep oneself safe does not mean to bury oneself.

There will always be opportunities to live well, even as the particular content of these opportunities will change as the world around us changes. It will not always be within our power to modify the circumstances outside of us, but it will always be within our power to modify our own thought and actions in response to these circumstances.

If I don’t like what I see, I am tempted to thrash about desperately, trying to fix all the situations I dislike, or working to make other people behave in a manner that I prefer.

Like some bull in a china shop, I trample and smash mindlessly, even as I somehow convince myself I am being so very productive. It does not occur to me that I should stick to mastering what is my own, and learn to gladly accept that certain things will be as they will be.

Others have made their choices; what will my choices now be? This is one of the most immediate and practical aspects of the Stoic Turn.

I don’t need to run away and hide if I feel discouraged. I don’t need to give up all hope, just because I am not fond of the scenery. I can always possess myself, and no one can ever take that away from me, even in suffering, exile, or death. There will be no gain from smashing up all the dishes.

“He treated me unfairly! He lied, and cheated, and stole from me!” Yes, indeed he did, and that is on him. Will my own rage make me any better, or will it make him any better?

“She doesn’t love me!” No, she doesn’t, and there is something very important I can learn from that. I will decide how I will love, but it is never up to me to decide that for anyone else.

“They never gave me a chance!” Was it their job to serve at my convenience? They may not have intended it, but whatever they may have done still ended up being a chance for me, though it may not have been what I expected.

I can adapt myself to whatever may happen, and still remain thoughtful and compassionate. Perhaps it will make me richer or poorer, bring me pleasure or pain, let me live a little longer or kill me right now. It makes no difference to virtue.

Love gives of itself and asks for nothing else, in any time or place. There is the simple beauty, quite unconquerable, of the Stoic Turn.

Written in 8/2011