I read the following quote, and I thought, yeah, protect yourself. But now I read it as a cop-out of the pressing needs of the world. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
I saw a copy of Meditations in TKMAXX in Kingston, of all places, but didn't purchase. Regarding the quote, I'd understand it not as a call for inaction but a manner of converting distress into something more productive. Distress can be disempowering. By reframing the emotional turmoil, the cause of the distress can be identified and addressed through action.
Yes, agreed. The second part of the quote might very well be - rather do something about it. Lol, it recalls when I used to complain to my husband about whatever, and his stock response would be, "Well, what are you going to do about it?" It also reminds me of a book authored by Rebecca Solnit I read a few years ago - Hope in the Darkness: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities - a call to action. Here's the first paragraph of the Foreword: Your opponents would love you to believe that it's hopeless, that you have no power, that's there's no reason to act, that you can't win. Hope is a gift you don't have to surrender, a power you don't have to throw away. And though hope can be an act of defiance, defiance isn't enough reason to hope. But there are good reasons. Hope has actually been a steadfast companion of mine.
