STOIC

The heavy rain this morning reminded me of a new word I learnt few weeks back from an article in "Mind Your Body" which I thought was interesting and truly enlightening.

Stoic - a disciple of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in 3BC

According to Zeno, if we are wise, we must learn to bow to the inevitable and cultivate indifference to circumstances outside our control... find peace of mind amid the most trying circumstances. Based on his theory, though we cannot always control our circumstances, we can control how we react to those circumstances. However, this does not mean that the stoic should resign himself to circumstances that he has the power to change.

I particularly like the following which was extracted from the article..

Why fret when stuck in traffic?
Why curse the heat or the rain?
Why not adopt an attitude of stoic indifference.
After all, what cannot be cured must be endured.

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change;
Courage to change
the things I can; and wisdom
to know the difference

Next time there's an overwhelming urge to complain and whine over circumstances not within our control, why not adopt an attitude of stoic indifference..