The soul is like a bowl of water, and our impressions are like the ray of light falling upon the water. When the water is troubled, it appears that the light itself is moved too, but it isn’t. So, when a person loses their composure it isn’t their skills and virtues that are troubled, but the spirit in which they exist, and when that spirit calms down so do those things. —Epictetus, DISCOURSES, 3.3.20–22
- Sometimes things don’t go as plan, and we may lose our temper and say or do things that we will regret—things that goes against who we are. Like troubled water distorts light that runs through it, the perception of our self will too be altered. We must not be moved by this skewed image, it is not representative of our character as a whole, but just the symptoms of a lapse within our character.
- Cognitive Distancing can help us regain composure and realize that this little lapse within our character makes us human, and doesn’t take from us all the virtues we have worked for.