“Understand at last that you have something in you more powerful and divine than what causes the bodily passions and pulls you like a mere puppet. What thoughts now occupy my mind? Is it not fear, suspicions, desire, or something like that?”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.19
There are a whole lot of things in our modern world that are trying to get a slice of your attention. Some of them are intentional (social media, app developers, technology, news) and some of them just sort of evolved to where we are today. They try to tap into your baser instincts — fear, desire, anger, distrust — in order to get you to react in a particular way.
They’re pulling on your strings, trying to yank you one direction or another. But you’re no puppet. You don’t have to react in the way that they want you to. You have much stronger forces within you, and you can call on them to help you set your intention and focus on things that matter more than the mundane and crass which clamor loudly to you. You can use this discipline to avoid being a pawn. That’s the wisdom in today’s entry of The Daily Stoic.
You just have to be aware. That’s what the study of philosophy calls us to do. Be aware and notice that the there are forces trying to manipulate us based on our simpler impulses, and understand that we’re not puppets and we don’t have to accept that manipulation. We can focus on our values and make the hard decisions that match our understanding of what’s good and true in this world — and not accept being pulled by strings of unseen forces.
