Everything Is Interpretation

“Remember that all is opinion, and opinion is in thy power.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.22

I usually run at around 5 a.m. Some mornings, it rains.

When that happens, I have two options. I can let it put me in a bad mood, or I can accept it and continue with something else.

I believe the impression is everything here. If I treat the rain as bad, the mood does not stay in that moment. It carries into the next hours, and sometimes into the next days.

But I can also read it as a blessing. I can enjoy the rain, run in it anyway, or use the time for other tasks.

The event doesn’t hurt you, your reading does

Marcus Aurelius borrowed a line from a Cynic philosopher, that everything is interpretation. How I feel depends on how I read the rain.

“Take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed.’ Take away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed,’ and the harm is taken away.” Meditations 4.7

On a rainy morning, my first impression says “this is bad”. If I believe it without checking, the rest of my morning follows that reading.

Your readings shape who you become

A single reading is small. The readings I repeat every day add up.

“Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.” Meditations 5.16

If I keep reading small things as bad, I become someone who is easily upset. If I keep accepting them and moving on, I become calmer. My mind takes the shape of the thoughts I let stay.

Even the hard things

I think this applies to grief, injustice, and physical pain too. They are harder to read well, but they are still interpretation.

With proper tuning of the mind, I can see a hard situation clearly and then choose the necessary action, instead of reacting to my first impression of it.

The pause

My practice is to pause before responding.

When something happens, I remind myself that this is just an initial impression, and I don’t need to react automatically.

That pause can be a couple of seconds or a few minutes. I use it to look at my emotion and at what is really happening, and then I decide on the proper action.

It is a simple habit, but I find it very powerful.

To my sons

You will have your own rainy mornings. Some will be actual rain, and some will be harder things.

When something feels bad, pause first. Remind yourself that it is only your first impression. Then decide how to read it and what to do next.

Be careful which thoughts you keep, because over time, your mind takes their shape.