Happy New Year
Let me start with a little blurb on my goals for 2021. I made this site a few years ago, with the intent to add content to it regularly. I had high hopes of publishing my thoughts in these Rambles often, along with curated posts of pictures I’ve taken, with perhaps some YouTube videos of interesting content to add some value to the world. As it turns out, I hadn’t made this much of a priority and the content lay stagnant.
Given this is a new year, I’ve decided that I’d like to focus some attention back here. I’d like to post more content this year. I set a goal to upload something once a month. 12 pieces of content are all I need to do this year. Let’s see if I can do it.
I’ll start 2021 off in the Random Rambles category, otherwise known as Philosophy, though I’m no philosopher. In this post, I reflect on some of the teachings of Epictetus, and how his thoughts, more than 2000 years ago, can apply today to help us overcome difficult times.
For those that may not know who Epictetus was, he was an ancient Greek slave, turned philosopher. He is most famous as a stoic philosopher, and a lot of his writings apply to modern-day life. One such philosophy was his thoughts on what we control in our lives. I particularly enjoy a quote from the beginning of one of his writings, The Enchiridion:
Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.
The Enchiridion, written by Epictetus in 135 A.D., Translated by Elizabeth Carter http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html
I find that these words resonate just as much now, as they did so long ago. I sometimes find myself getting caught up in the negativity all around me. I hear constant negativity about 2020, COVID, current politics, divisiveness, and so on. Glancing at my social media I find hate and negativity being spread rampantly. It’s almost as if the lessons we were taught as children (to respect others and if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all) have all been thrown out the window. I’m sure you’re seeing and hearing something similar.
Instead of letting this take us down the mood elevator, we need to understand what of this is within our control, and what of it is not. We have absolutely no control as to whether or not a virus decides to infect humans across the planet, causing widespread fear, panic, misinformation, and arguments. We can’t control how politicians, on either side of the aisle, politicize this virus and how it is then very difficult to understand the science and the facts. We cannot control how others behave on social media, nor what they say, post, or share.
The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others.
As Epictetus suggested, all we can control is our own feelings, emotions, and actions. These actions include how we treat others. We can control how we react to this pandemic: we can either let it consume us in fear or we can use it to better ourselves and those around us. Perhaps we can use the time alone in confinement to pick up a new skill or to do something constructive. It’s our choice how we react, no one else’s. Given that, we have the choice to be happy or to be upset. I’ve chosen to be happy.
I understand that unfortunately there were many affected by this virus. Those who may no longer be with us or those affected financially due to the shutdowns. I feel empathy for them. I may be one of those people that has some unknown underlying condition that should I be infected, I may not survive. I don’t know. But I mustn’t let the fear of the unknown, or others’ sadness be my excuse to not be happy, nor mustn’t I use it to treat others in a non-kind way.
The same goes for the political upheaval that is apparent in our country at the moment. I have my opinions, and biases, as we all do; but I mustn’t let this political negativity bring me down. I certainly won’t use it as an excuse to be downright mean to others. So many of us are confused, and feel helpless sitting in our homes, watching this hate, destruction, and evil on the news, which makes it easy for us to feel hate and evil.
However, once again, as Epictetus clearly stated, those are not our actions, we cannot control them. What we can control, is our own beliefs, our own state of mind, and our own actions. My beliefs are mine, no one else’s. You do not need to share my beliefs, and I can’t control whether or not you do.
He further went on to describe how if we allow things we cannot control to consume us, we will become a slave to those things. In more modern terms, with modern language, we will not live a happy life. I will not let the negativity of the world around me restrain me, to force me to be negative. I want to stay informed and to understand the facts without bias, so I can formulate good opinions, but I cannot enable the negativity to drive my life.
There is no doubt in my mind that I am fortunate. Gratitude should be its own posting one day in the future, as there are many benefits to being thankful for what we have. For me personally, I am thankful that I am able to stay in my home, safely; not to have to worry about where my next meal will come from; being able to maintain my exercise routine and stay in shape; and the ability to continue to communicate with family and friends.
Regardless of mine, or your personal situation, I think the mindset Epictetus describes is exactly what can get us through difficult times, whatever they may be. Epictetus used this mindset to survive slavery, and I imagine being a slave in ancient Greece could not have been easy.
James Stockdale also exemplifies how we can use this mindset of what we control and what we do not, in order to maintain a positive mindset no matter the circumstances. James was a prisoner of war for more than seven years during the Vietnam War. He was constantly beaten and tortured. Yet James implemented the philosophy described here, that he cannot control what happens to him or his body, but he can control his mind. It was his mind that enabled him to get through those horrors.
Therefore, when times get truly tough for us, it’s good to remind ourselves that there is what we can control, and what we cannot. With just our minds, we can control how we let these tough times affect us. That’s been helping me get through these crazy times, and I hope it can help you as well.
