“We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing and to not let it upset our state of mind — for things have no natural power to shape our judgments.”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.52
What about all the things you’re not even aware of? Things that you don’t even know about, that were out of sight & out of mind? Things that might have affected you, but you just completely missed them? You don’t have an opinion about those things at all, because you don’t know about them. That’s the point made in today’s chapter of The Daily Stoic.
And consider the freedom you have, by not knowing about those things, and not being burdened with forming an opinion about them! The absolute liberation from anxiety that comes by not thinking about them.
In today’s internet age, we’ve come to think that we need to be experts on everything, and absorb all the information coming at us. Further, social media has convinced us that our opinions are really important. I was talking about this with a friend recently — fifteen years ago, we all had opinions but we usually kept them to ourselves… because “who cares what I think?”
Now Facebook and Twitter and Instagram have persuaded and coaxed us into thinking that our opinion is supremely important, and worth shouting & arguing from the rooftops at random strangers. Everybody has an opinion now, they’re like assh— well, you know the saying.
But you don’t have to have an opinion, because you’re no puppet and you’re not being pulled by strings against your will. It’s okay to have no opinion at all, in fact! And it’s okay to be completely clueless on other topics. By not having an opinion, these things will lose their power over you, and you’ll find yourself freer and happier as a result.
