Body, Breath, Mind: You Only Control the Last

“You have been formed of three parts — body, breath, and mind. Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care. The third alone is truly yours.”

MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.3

We think that our body is within our control, and it is in a way — you decide what your body is going to do, and what actions you’re going to take.

But what you can’t control is whether you fall ill, or if you inherit a genetic weakness, or whether you might get run over by a bus. Somebody could beat you up or attack you physically, out of nowhere. Sticks and stones could break your bones, and that’s just a risk of being alive on planet Earth. These aren’t things within your ability to completely avoid.

Your breath likewise isn’t something that you can decide. Whenever you take your last inhalation, well, that’s that. Your life comes to an immediate end right then and there — and there’s nothing you can do to influence that or change it one bit. When your time comes, and the reaper knocks, your breathing ends and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.

But the mind — well that’s a little different. Your mind is the one thing you can control. You can decide the direction it goes, the things it learns, and the thought processes you entertain. And for that reason, it’s the one area you should focus most on. Body and breath are largely influenced by forces beyond you, but your mind is yours completely. And that’s why you should pay more attention to it than anything else.

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