I. 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 things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember, then, that if you suppose that things which are slavish by nature are also free, and that what belongs to others is your own, then you will be hindered. You will lament, you will be disturbed, and you will find fault both with gods and men. But if you suppose that only to be your own which is your own, and what belongs to others such as it really is, then no one will ever compel you or restrain you. Further, you will find fault with no one or accuse no one. You will do nothing against your will. No one will hurt you, you will have no enemies, and you not be harmed.
Aiming therefore at such great things, remember that you must not allow yourself to be carried, even with a slight tendency, towards the attainment of lesser things. Instead, you must entirely quit some things and for the present postpone the rest. But if you would both have these great things, along with power and riches, then you will not gain even the latter, because you aim at the former too: but you will absolutely fail of the former, by which alone happiness and freedom are achieved.
Work, therefore to be able to say to every harsh appearance, “You are but an appearance, and not absolutely the thing you appear to be.” And then examine it by those rules which you have, and first, and chiefly, by this: whether it concerns the things which are in our own control, or those which are not; and, if it concerns anything not in our control, be prepared to say that it is nothing to you.
-Epictetus, The Enchiridion
I wanted to include the entire text of this first entry in the Enchiridion by Epictetus, because there is nothing I can exclude without reducing it’s meaning, rather than enhancing it as I intended. The question at hand here is “How do I accept what I have control over and cease to be affected by that over which I have no control?”
Epictetus says (in a word) we only have control over our own actions and we do not have control over anything that is not our own actions. He doesn’t even include our bodies as something under our control because, I presume, we cannot help but breathe. Our bodies are a means of action but are given to us, we don’t choose them nor do we control their aptitudes nor afflictions. I digress!
What Epictetus gives us is a very narrow area of control and a very wide area of non-control. There are a great many things which we want to control and cannot–a major source of disappointment in our lives, if not the only source, could be said to be this desire to control things which we cannot.
This is a hard lesson to learn, even harder to practice. Individuals have a unique ability to disturb my conscience. How can I make peace with the actions of the world? I think asserting control over that which we have control is probably prior to making peace with the things we cannot control. If I let other people disturb my conscience, that is because I haven’t protected my conscience. I must work to fortify my soul such that it is at peace regardless of circumstance. By enforcing, with iron rule, my own self mastery, I cannot help but be undisturbed by whatever winds blow about the world.
This is the beginning. There is a reason Epictetus has this as his first entry in The Enchiridion. It is fundamental to everything else.
AMDG
Times-Dispatch of Vichy Earth 