Acceptance of What Is (Epictetus)
**Epictetus**
Do not demand that events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do, and you will always prosper.
What disturbs men are not things themselves but the opinions they form about them. In the face of any painful thought, be ready to say: "This is merely an impression and not at all what it appears to be." When you see someone crying, be cautious that your imagination does not carry you away, persuading you that this person is truly miserable because of external circumstances. Instead, discern this: what troubles them is not the event itself—since another might remain unshaken—but the opinion they hold about it.
We must train ourselves in small matters first and then progress to greater challenges. "I have a headache,"—do not say, "Alas!" "My ear hurts,"—do not exclaim in despair. This does not mean forbidding all expressions of discomfort but ensuring that sorrow does not take root within. Trust in these principles, and walk your path freely. Strength is not about physical invincibility like that of an animal. True invincibility is being undisturbed by what lies beyond our control. (Discourses, Book I)
What is a Stoic? Show me a man who is ill and yet happy, in danger and yet serene, dying and yet content. Let me see this individual who shapes himself toward such a model. Such a soul seeks to align its will with divine will, never lamenting God or man, never failing in its endeavors, never being obstructed or overcome by envy or anger. Such a soul becomes godlike in a mortal body, aspiring to the divine company of Zeus. (Discourses, Book II)
**Marcus Aurelius**
What should you focus all your care upon? Accepting everything that happens as necessary and flowing from the same principle and source as yourself. Surrender willingly to fate, allowing it to weave the thread of your life. Adapt yourself to the events that destiny assigns to you. Love whatever happens to you, for it is uniquely suited to you.
You can rid yourself of many troubles by recognizing that they exist only in your opinion of them. If you focus on living only in the present, without letting the past haunt you or the future unsettle you, you will live with noble serenity. You already have access to the peace you seek, provided you relinquish the past to memory and the future to providence. (Meditations)
**Arnaud Desjardins**
Acceptance is the pure and simple vision of what is, here and now. It is the refusal to resist reality as it unfolds. In this very moment, what is—simply is. Intervention is only possible regarding what may or may not happen in the next second or minute. Acceptance means embracing relative reality, moment by moment, without conflict. (Dialogue à deux voies)
The guiding principle must always be: "Not what should be, but what is." Only through engagement with relative reality can one be led to absolute reality. There is no other path. (The Way of the Heart)
EN