Epictetus: The Calm Switch

Keeping Calm When the World Seems to Bait You

“In the case of things that delight you, benefit you, or to which you have grown attached, remind yourself of what they are. If it is a piece of china you like, for instance, say, ‘I am fond of a piece of china’. When it breaks, then you won’t be as disconcerted.” Painting: Francisco de Zurbarán, Still Life, 1650. (source: Wikipedia)

Every day we meet frustrations.

Things often don’t go our way. The news is bad. We get annoyed or sad that the world isn’t bending to our will. We attempt to exert more control and our expectation that things will go well never diminishes. And yet we find ourselves time and again with the same frustrations.