I have two quotes that I live by, or at least try to live by. As someone deeply interested in philosophy, I have read many of the ancient Stoic philosophers, and two quotes have stayed with me like a child clinging to its mother’s umbilical cord. One, attributed to Seneca, goes: ‘We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.’ The other, ‘A man who suffers before it is necessary suffers more than is necessary,’ is also attributed to him.
There is another quote that I came across as a child in a book titled Krishna Suktas. I am fairly certain many of you may have encountered it somewhere: ‘If a problem can be solved, there is no need to worry about it, and if a problem cannot be solved, there is no use worrying about it.’
I call these quotes to mind whenever I grow anxious. I remind myself that I am merely to witness what unfolds around me and that I can only control the controllables. We oftentimes worry about things beyond our control, and that is what leads to suffering. The only way for us to lead a peaceful life is to remind ourselves that brooding over problems is not going to solve them.
I can explain this further with an example. I must admit here that I am scared of dogs, or perhaps, more specifically, rabid animals. A few years ago, I came across a news report about a college student and animal lover who passed away after contracting rabies. Ever since then, I have avoided dogs. Dogs are aplenty where I live, and even though they usually do not bite, my mind immediately tells me to stay away lest I should be bitten.
The point is simply this: if I do not get bitten, I have nothing to worry about, and if I do get bitten, I already know the next course of action: taking anti-rabies vaccines. Worrying over something that has not happened is foolishness, to say the least. But boy, our minds do play games, do they not?
I would like to write an etheree today to drive home the point:
Why
do you
worry when
you know you can’t
solve what’s oft called a
plight or predicament?
Dwell on what can be controlled,
dear you, for uncontrollables
should not be pondered now or ever;
and let this thought sink well into your mind.
Leave a Reply