Marcus Aurelius: Cast away from thee opinion, and thou…

We often hand our peace over to a single opinion: They do not respect me. This should not have happened. I cannot handle this. Marcus points out that the opinion is not a prison door welded shut. It is something the mind can reconsider. That does not mean we can think our way out of every painful fact. Loss hurts. Injustice exists. Bills still have to be paid. But we can challenge the thoughts that make pain unbearable: the demand that it never happen, the prediction that it will last forever, the belief that it defines us. Safety begins when we stop treating every thought as a command or a verdict. Today, catch one thought that is making you anxious or angry. Ask whether it is a fact, a useful judgment, or merely a habit of mind. You are allowed to put it down.