Epictetus said only a few things are truly up to us: our judgments, our choices, what we pursue and avoid, the inner movements of the will. Everything else, body, property, reputation, the world, is on loan and outside our final say. On a quiet eve, this can be a comfort rather than a loss. So much that we anxiously try to manage was never ours to manage. But the small inner kingdom that is yours, how you choose to see this day, what you decide to value, the person you choose to be, that no one can take. Settle into it. You may notice that the part of life truly under your care is small, but it is the part that matters most, and it is genuinely yours.

Inspired by the old idea of dichotomy of control. Written by Ugo Charles.