Ataraxia

I am scared and very sad about the looming major surgery now. I am also very pleased and excited for the  strong possibility that this surgery will extend my existence. What an abnormal set of emotions to be experiencing all at once. Sleep does not come easily for anyone who is stressed. Reading before lights out is my sleeping pill. Last night I picked up my book and opened to page 58 where I was up to. I have read this book repeatedly, so I could have been anywhere familiar, but this is what it says;

The Stoics had one simple basic teaching:  unhappiness results from an attitude problem; namely, the refusal to accept the way things work. The solution is to accept Hippocrates' diagnosis, acknowledging the brevity of life, the perils of experience and the difficulty of decision. Then mix in the Heraclitean dictum that change is inevitable, and add the realisation that it's often impossible to coax external events into cooperating with our ideas of how things ought to be. The result is ataraxia, imperturbability, an inoculation against life's vicissitudes that works by building up our internal resistance.


The Stoics never claimed to offer a cure for the human condition. Fatalism is a crucial part of their philosophy. But they insist that we renew each day our determination not to let our happiness depend on anything but ourselves. The Stoics are the great physicians of the soul. Though their aphorisms often sound bleak, the message is a challenging yet hopeful one:  reader, heal thyself.


It is quite easy to have a peaceful sleep after reading this.


Love to all xx