Seneca, On Peace of Mind 15.4

As for the several causes which render us happy or sorrowful, let everyone describe them for himself, and learn the truth of Bion's saying, "That all the doings of men were very like what he began with, and that there is nothing in their lives which is more holy or decent than their conception."

It is so easy for me to feel shocked, offended, or outraged at the way of the world, and yet that response comes from my own thoughtlessness, and merely strengthens my resentment.

If only I observe carefully, and reflect calmly, I will recognize that all these things are there for a reason, exist as a part of Nature, and I should hardly expect them to be otherwise. Once I can accept this, I will not be so easily swept one way or another.

I may not prefer them, and they not make my life any easier to live, and the people who do such things may well be acting quite unjustly. Can I somehow magically change them, by yelling, and protesting, and pushing them around? That would simply be another exercise in force, a pointless clash of wills.

Yet I can change myself, and there could still be a ghost of a chance that my own actions, in however small a manner, will assist others in changing themselves. That is a very part of the order of things, where creatures of reason and choice will follow their own ways.

Bion of Borysthenes, in my mind second only to Diogenes of Sinope, or perhaps Mark Twain, for his cutting insights on human nature, once again puts me in my place. Did I really think that people would alter their living to fit my convenience?

We all came from the same place, and were made with the same dignity, and yet we so often abuse the identity of who we should be. Sometimes keeping the noble source in mind is the only way to make any sense of all the insanity.

On all the busy streets, in any of the big cities, you will see thousands upon thousands of people rushing this way and that, all occupied with their very particular business, even as they are all from the same seed.

Some will act with conscience and integrity. Others will act with greed and deception. Their paths are joined far more deeply than they can imagine, and they all play their own part in the whole.

Will there be loss, and suffering, and evil? Yes, and it can be no other way, given how we were made. Now how will I take responsibility for my part, before I throw stones at my neighbors?

If there is any hatred in my heart, I am not solving the problem; I am the problem.

Written in 12/2011