How often are you indifferent about things? When I read this quote by one of my favourite Stoics, Marcus Aurelius, I asked myself that question. And the honest answer was, not very often.
Our opinions, values and beliefs are something that we can control in a world that often feels out of our control. They are things that we hold onto quite tightly, and sometimes wrongly. Sometimes we are so intent on holding on to what we believe that we can cause friction, discord, and unhappiness with our stubborn attachment to our opinions. For the last week I have been trying my hand at being indifferent. It was so much harder than I thought. With the constant stream of news, social media, opinions, ideas, information and all the rest that comes with a modern, technology-based life, we are continually exposed to the actions and words of others. Let's just say, I've been challenged to keep my mouth shut and not comment on the things that in all reality mean nothing to me or my life!
I intend to keep practising this idea of Aurelius', and once I have exercised my indifference muscle a bit, I might start to look at some of my own long-held beliefs and examine if they are as worth holding onto as I thought they were.
Sometimes these bitesize inspirations really do inspire us, other times they may convict us to think in another way. As long as they provoke thought, inspire us to question ourselves and the way we are living our lives, and if we're lucky, speak to us on a deeper level, then I'm happy. How do you feel about Marcus Aurelius' opinion on having an opinion? Do you think it's worth having an opinion about? ;)
Thanks for popping in, and have a wonderful week!
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