You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all. —Marcus Aurelius, MEDITATIONS, 7.38
- We often use the expression “being a victim of circumstances”, which is a way to say that we were just not lucky, that there is no one to blame for our misfortune. But sometimes we want a target for our frustration or anger, be it a God, society as a whole, a specific group, our upbringing, etc. We personify circumstances, to put a face on them, so we can hate them in return.
- Marcus doubles down on the metaphor, and says that assuming you’re putting a face on circumstances, that’s where you should stop, because circumstances really don’t care about you, the same way than society as a whole or even a god don’t care about you. So they’re not worth your anger. Don’t empower them. They already have brought you misfortune, don’t indulge them even more.
- Let’s also remember that
anger is nothing but temporary madness and that its consequences are often irreparable, (Location 84)