A thought occurred to me recently that I attribute to my study and practice of Stoicism. I drive all around a small metro downtown area (Salt Lake City) for six hours a day delivering food. I am often stopped at a green light by a homeless person walking more or less swiftly across my path. I could get angry and honk and flip them off or yell an obscenity, but I don’t. In fact, I don’t even feel the slightest urge to. Rather, I see their lot in life, quickly compare it to my own, and immediately feel sympathy for them. I don’t feel angry, or even annoyed that they are crossing in front of me while I have a green light and am in a hurry to reach my destination. Their life is a complete dumpster fire compared to mine. How can I get angry at someone not minding this sort of convention when I am so much better off than they? It’s the little things like this that make Stoicism a very useful endeavor, and that’s today’s two cents.
On Stoicism III
