9781945186240

you think the gods don’t care about what’s up to us?
Start praying like this and you’ll see.
Not “some way to sleep with her”—but a way to stop wanting to.
Not “some way to get rid of him”—but a way to stop trying.
Not “some way to save my child”—but a way to lose your fear.
Redirect your prayers like that, and watch what happens.
41. Epicurus: “During my illness, my conversations were not about my
physical state; I did not waste my visitors’ time with things of that sort, but
went on discussing philosophy, and concentrated on one point in particular:
how the mind can participate in the sensations of the body and yet maintain
its serenity, and focus on its own well-being. Nor did I let my doctors strut
about like grandees. I went on living my life the way it should be lived.”
Like that. In illness—or any other situation.
Not to let go of philosophy, no matter what happens; not to bandy words
with crackpots and philistines—good rules for any philosopher.
Concentrate on what you’re doing, and what you’re doing it with.
42. When you run up against someone else’s shamelessness, ask
yourself this: Is a world without shamelessness possible?
No.
Then don’t ask the impossible. There have to be shameless people in the
world. This is one of them.
The same for someone vicious or untrustworthy, or with any other
defect. Remembering that the whole class has to exist will make you more
tolerant of its members.
Another useful point to bear in mind: What qualities has nature given us
to counter that defect? As an antidote to unkindness it gave us kindness.
And other qualities to balance other flaws.
And when others stray off course, you can always try to set them
straight, because every wrongdoer is doing something wrong—doing
something the wrong way.
And how does it injure you anyway? You’ll find that none of the people
you’re upset about has done anything that could do damage to your mind.
But that’s all that “harm” or “injury” could mean. Yes, boorish people do
boorish things. What’s strange or unheard-of about that? Isn’t it yourself
you should reproach—for not anticipating that they’d act this way? The