Chapter 5: How a careful life is compatible with a noble spirit.
Material things are indifferent, but how we handle them is not indifferent.
How then is one to maintain the constant and tranquil mind, and. therewith the careful spirit which is not random or hasty?
You can do it if you imitate those who play dice. Counters and dice are indifferent: how do I know what is going to turn up? My business is to use what does turn up with diligence and skill.
In like manner this is the principal business of life: distinguish between things, weigh them one against the other, and say, “External things are not in my power, my will is my own. Where am I to seek what is good and what is evil? Within me, among my own possessions.”
You must never use the word good or evil or benefit or injury or any such word, in connection with other men's possessions.
Material things are indifferent, but how we handle them is not indifferent.
How then is one to maintain the constant and tranquil mind, and. therewith the careful spirit which is not random or hasty?
You can do it if you imitate those who play dice. Counters and dice are indifferent: how do I know what is going to turn up? My business is to use what does turn up with diligence and skill.
In like manner this is the principal business of life: distinguish between things, weigh them one against the other, and say, “External things are not in my power, my will is my own. Where am I to seek what is good and what is evil? Within me, among my own possessions.”
You must never use the word good or evil or benefit or injury or any such word, in connection with other men's possessions.
—from Epictetus, Discourses 2.5
Most people I meet will, as if by default, assume that the value of their lives is measured by the arrangement of their circumstances. They do not do so because they are somehow wicked or dim-witted, but rather because they have been told, time and time again, to define their worth by their pleasures, their positions, and their properties.
Who but the demigod, or perhaps the hermit, could possibly resist the incessant pressure of his peers?
And yet I also find that most people, given the genuine opportunity to reflect on their own nature, are quite open to the argument that human dignity must be in what we do, not in what is done to us. Where they then stumble, however, is in following through on the insight; the old habits die hard, and the commitment will demand making radical changes.
Who of us has the moxie to put the theory into practice?
So when Epictetus says that our worldly conditions are indifferent, in themselves neither good nor bad for us, and that they only become good or bad for us through our estimation of them, the spirit may be willing, but the flesh remains weak. We need all the help we can get to strengthen our resolve. The prize of serenity is surely worth the effort.
Now I am not a gambler, but I can certainly appreciate how a roll of the dice is symbolic of life’s many gives and takes. While it is not within my power to determine the toss, it is completely within my power to decide on my response. Given that Fortune has handed me this or that, what will I now choose to make of it?
I have very fond memories of playing the board game Parcheesi with my family, and though the worst that could happen was a slightly bruised ego, it served as a useful training for rolling with the punches. Beyond all the bragging or the cursing, the trick was to walk away as gracious in either victory or defeat.
I suppose the true winner was actually the player who managed not to get smug or angry.
On many days, I still catch myself speaking in terms of good luck and bad luck, or as if events provide me with a blessing or a curse. This reveals how my attitude remains fixated with externals, at the expense of focusing on my own character. The work continues. I am at my best when I am happy to find the benefit in any occurrence, however it first appears.
In the simplest of terms, my happiness is about minding my own business, not everyone else’s.
Most people I meet will, as if by default, assume that the value of their lives is measured by the arrangement of their circumstances. They do not do so because they are somehow wicked or dim-witted, but rather because they have been told, time and time again, to define their worth by their pleasures, their positions, and their properties.
Who but the demigod, or perhaps the hermit, could possibly resist the incessant pressure of his peers?
And yet I also find that most people, given the genuine opportunity to reflect on their own nature, are quite open to the argument that human dignity must be in what we do, not in what is done to us. Where they then stumble, however, is in following through on the insight; the old habits die hard, and the commitment will demand making radical changes.
Who of us has the moxie to put the theory into practice?
So when Epictetus says that our worldly conditions are indifferent, in themselves neither good nor bad for us, and that they only become good or bad for us through our estimation of them, the spirit may be willing, but the flesh remains weak. We need all the help we can get to strengthen our resolve. The prize of serenity is surely worth the effort.
Now I am not a gambler, but I can certainly appreciate how a roll of the dice is symbolic of life’s many gives and takes. While it is not within my power to determine the toss, it is completely within my power to decide on my response. Given that Fortune has handed me this or that, what will I now choose to make of it?
I have very fond memories of playing the board game Parcheesi with my family, and though the worst that could happen was a slightly bruised ego, it served as a useful training for rolling with the punches. Beyond all the bragging or the cursing, the trick was to walk away as gracious in either victory or defeat.
I suppose the true winner was actually the player who managed not to get smug or angry.
On many days, I still catch myself speaking in terms of good luck and bad luck, or as if events provide me with a blessing or a curse. This reveals how my attitude remains fixated with externals, at the expense of focusing on my own character. The work continues. I am at my best when I am happy to find the benefit in any occurrence, however it first appears.
In the simplest of terms, my happiness is about minding my own business, not everyone else’s.
—Reflection written in 6/2001
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