Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.
~ Epictetus
Epictetus was a Greek stoic philosopher. Born a slave in a wealthy household, he rose to prominence along other stoics like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca. Some 2,000 years later, his words still ring true.
There are so many things to be angry about in the world. So very many. Some of them are things we can do something about. Most of them are things over which we have no control.
I got really, really angry this week. Angry about other people’s anger — something over which I have no control. Talk about an incredible waste of energy. I’m still processing, still letting go of those familiar waves of rage, but I’m doing it. Why? Because I don’t want to let someone else’s bitter, angsty pathetic old gripe live rent free in my head for one more minute. I don’t want that to be my master.
Think about the things that make you mad. Hopping mad. Spitting mad. Blood boiling. Hot under the collar. Fed up to the back teeth. Would you choose to let those things become your master? Likely not.
The words of Elsa from Frozen aren’t exactly the elegant prose of Epictetus, but they hold the same meaning and value: “Let it go.”
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com