260823 What I learned in my studies this morning 6

Today's Meditation:

“Whenever anyone assents to what is false, one may be sure that he does not willingly give his assent to falsehood (‘for every mind is deprived of the truth against its will,’ as Plato observes), but rather that what is false seemed to him to be true.” ~ Epictetus (as quoted in the Daily Stoic 260823)

If I want to understand, I have to disarm the automatic assignment of blame or condemnation when someone does something that thwarts me in ways large or picayune.

I've (generally) been successful at training myself to think of the person first.  I should with practice, become better at giving others the benefit of the doubt, assuming accident or ignorance rather than malfeasance.

Ive done this a bit while driving, learned to set the automatic anger — the raw impulse of hurt or harm or fear — aside as soon as it entered my mind, but it is yet severely deficient in both occurrance and staying power.

Time to make this passage a more central reflex. Keep it top of mind for the future until it becomes habit.