Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
The track that is short in time,
But not in depth.
You can't believe everything you see,
But equally you shouldn't disbelieve everything you can't.
This is confusing I know,
But you could probably conceptualise this better by thinking about sight or sound.
You can only hear a small portion of the world around you,
Same goes for what you can see.
For instance,
You can't see x-rays or microwaves or infrared,
You also can't hear things that dogs can hear.
Now that doesn't mean that those things you can't see or can't hear don't exist,
It just means that you can't observe them.
And you certainly shouldn't assume that things you cannot observe are inconsequential.
In an extreme example,
It would be a mistake to enter an area that was emitting x-rays without any protection and think you were unaffected because you couldn't see the x-rays or you couldn't see the damage.
And yet it is this exact type of irrationality that we routinely take part in every day.
Just like the radiation example with the x-rays,
It can cause all manner of harm,
Even if we can't always see it.
We have to learn to see the world in inverted commas,
Even when we are not able to observe everything about it.
Let me give you three examples from the Stoics.
Marcus Aurelius first.
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of your thoughts.
We often take for granted that our thoughts are true just because they are ours.
Now it's a strange notion to think that we could be the creator of our thoughts and the observer of our thoughts at the same time.
But you can be.
The Stoics go further and say that you are not just the creator and the observer of your thoughts,
But also the sculptor,
Changing how we feel about things we observe and then choosing a new path.
As Marcus Aurelius warns us,
These thoughts that we have and that we choose to hold on to will dye our souls,
So we should be careful about what they are.
Now you cannot see your thoughts,
But you can certainly observe them.
And you have even more power to adapt them to your needs.
So instead of just allowing your thoughts to run rampant,
You can decide which ones you give more weighting to than others,
Which ones you let go of and which ones you hold on to.
Again,
Marcus Aurelius.
Choose not to be harmed and you will not be harmed.
Don't feel harmed and you haven't been.
Much of the pain we endure is the result of our inability to see how our thoughts affect us and how we can alter them.
Don't just take things at face value,
Even your own thoughts.
Turn these automatic things into observable things and then decide how best to deal with them.
Finally,
Here's Epictetus.
A man is as wretched as he has convinced himself that he is.
Once again,
An example of how our thoughts can change how we feel about the world and what our true reality is.
In short,
We need to take ownership of our thoughts and that starts with seeing them,
Observing them.
And then we need to see them for what they are and choose which ones serve us and which ones do not.
Make sure your soul is dyed the color that you would like.
Not easy,
I know,
Which is why it's a good time to start right now.
Good luck out there.
Now,
If you're looking for a way to get better at choosing your thoughts and getting the color of your soul just right,
Then consider coming on one of my retreats.
I've got one going on in the new year and if you want to take part in that,
Just DM me in Insight Timer and you can register your interest.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
