The event and the interpretation
Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.
Epictetus
Enchiridion · §5
Translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Higginson translation; linked 1955 revised edition (public domain in the United States). Teaching of Epictetus compiled by Arrian; Higginson translation.
An unanswered message is an event. Deciding that it proves disrespect is an interpretation. Epictetus asks us to notice the space between the two. His claim is deliberately strong; illness, loss, and injustice have real effects that cannot be erased by changing a thought. But our account of an event can add a second layer of distress, especially when we treat an uncertain explanation as a settled fact. The useful practice is to separate what happened, what we know, and what we are assuming. Another explanation may be possible even when the situation still requires a firm response.
A question for today
What fact have you added an untested story to?
