“We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing and to not let it upset our state of mind — for things have no natural power to shape our judgments.” — Marcus Aurelius
It isn’t easy to stay neutral in a world that seems to constantly demand your opinion on everything.
What team are you rooting for? What political party do you support? What do you think about this issue . . . and this one, and this one?
As human beings, we have an instinctive desire to feel like part of a group, a member of a club, a player on a team; a reflexive urge to classify everyone around us as either “with me” or “against me.”
Marcus is reminding us that we can choose to overcome these urges, and free ourselves of the negative emotions they cause.
You’re allowed to have no opinion at all about a topic, regardless of how much someone insists that you pick a side. You’re allowed to decide that you aren’t going to waste any time even thinking about it.