Page 11 - Jigsaw October 2020

Chairman’s Report – Cllr Karen Draycott
Freedom to choose what...
How many of us a year ago imagined that the whole world would be so gripped and pre- occupied with a virus. We find ourselves placed into this state of the unknown and the unknowing. A precarious state in which, what we thought we knew or
in what we previously placed our own security in, is no longer stable. A state of imbalance that could tip either way.
Cllr Karen Draycott
What does Epictetus (Stoic philosopher)
have to say about our choices in life. He was born around the 50’s CE (common era) a slave and administrator in the Court of Emperor Nero. He says this; ”Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command and whatever are not our actions. The
This is of course
nothing new to the historical narrative of humanity. Generations of the past have all been required to face up to events that are not of their making and not in their control.
So, what is it that we can control, that is within our own agency and how can we respond in a way that affirms our own sense of being and worth?
things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained belonging to others ...”
We can choose to adopt an attitude and outlook that is within our own will. A will to choose that which serves our inner self, that promotes our own sense of well- being and worth.
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