Reason

There is one thing that separates us from all other creatures on this planet: our reason. We are able to perceive the world and make rational judgments about it. When we allow irrational thoughts to guide our behavior we are giving up the one thing we have that is truly our own. Where does this reason come into play? In every moment of our lives we are making judgments about the world whether it is how we will interact with one another or how we perceive the world. 

The first step in applying our reason is to clearly define what is in our control and what is outside of our control. We can't change the age we live in, the culture that exists around us, the people that cross our paths every day, the time we were born, or our parents.  As it's said, choose your parents wisely. The list could go on and on, but sitting opposite that list is our mind which we control or can learn to take under our control. We do have to grant there are people who suffer from forms of mental illness that are not within their control, but then, on the other hand, there are mental illnesses that appear to be uncontrollable but when individuals are taught to control their thoughts, their behavior, their actions, they step away from their illness. What is required is an awakening to the fact that much of what individuals see as out of their control is in fact within their control. It is possible to control fear, anger, jealousy, our thoughts, the swirling of our minds can be contained.

Scuola di Atene The School of Athens

What do I mean by the above? When we allow our emotions to be guided by the behavior of others, we are giving up our reason. I will use this word, reason, to indicate that part of the mind within our control. Reason determines how we interact with the world. If we look at our emotions, such as anger, we can often see we are behaving irrationally and basing our responses to the world on the idea we have control over things that are out of our control.

The first step in Stoicism is to turn on our reasoning ability and start to see the world as it really is filtering out everything that is out of our control and focusing on those things we can control. There is also the need to monitor our responses to the world around us. Are they rational? Are they based on what is really happening or are we coloring things with our judgments, our pasts, our wishes, fears, desires, or other emotions? We need to see the world with clarity or we are not living. To not see the world as it is, is to live in fantasy. How many of us allow our brains to be like monkeys jumping from thought to thought never taking the time to regulate the one thing we can control: our minds? The first step in Stoicism, as in Buddhism, is to get control of our minds. No easy task. Keep well.