Seneca, On Peace of Mind 13.2

I will set sail unless anything happens to prevent me, I shall be praetor, if nothing hinders me, my financial operations will succeed, unless anything goes wrong with them.

This is why we say that nothing befalls the wise man that he did not expect—we do not make him exempt from the chances of human life, but from its mistakes, nor does everything happen to him as he wished it would, but as he thought it would.

Now his first thought was that his purpose might meet with some resistance, and the pain of disappointed wishes must affect a man's mind less severely if he has not been at all events confident of success.

I firmly intend to make something of myself, and even as I could well do quite a bit to improve myself, what I really mean is that I intend to make my lasting mark on other things.

And it never really works out like that at all, does it?

I may nudge this and tug at that, and I will find glorious satisfaction in the slightest movement that follows my will. Then, there is suddenly the deluge, or the avalanche, or the fire that takes it all away. “The best-laid schemes of mice and men go often awry”, indeed!

I may well go wherever I want to go, or win the high office I so desperately crave, or become as rich as my heart’s desire, but only if Fortune lets me pass. If she refuses me, there will be no recourse or appeal. It will be done according to her word.

So, where I cannot alter the course of things, let me alter my thinking about the course of things.

Once I do not make demands of Fortune to reward me, then I will learn to find peace in everything she offers, however pleasant or unpleasant it may at first appear.

Once I am open to the possibility of any and all circumstances, however convenient or inconvenient to my worldly preferences, then absolutely nothing will surprise me.

Did I win the lottery, or invest in a stock that went through the roof, or impress my boss with some profitable turn? Yes, I thought that something like that might happen.

Did my house fall down, or did I contract some terrible disease, or was I fired from my job at the most needful time? Yes, I also thought that something like that might happen.

I was ready for it, not because I expected the best or the worst, but rather because I was ready for anything.

I wasn’t ready by having some secret plan of world domination waiting in the wings, complete with a hidden underground base and killer robot army, but rather by forming my judgments and values in such a way that I could live well, and so be happy, regardless of the situation.

In redefining the terms of my success in this life, I am actually able to be successful if I die now or later, in riches or in poverty, surrounded by friends or lying alone in a ditch.

As always, if I don’t require all of “it”, either its presence or absence, it does not need to phase me.

Written in 12/2011