The Inner Citadel



> *"Don't demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well."*
> — Epictetus, *Enchiridion* 8 (Elizabeth Carter)

## Micro-Lesson
The refusal to accept reality is the source of almost all daily suffering. Acceptance is not approval — you can fight an injustice and still not wage a private war against the fact that it happened. *Amor fati* begins here, in miniature: stop arguing with the morning traffic. Stop arguing with the weather. Stop arguing with the person who already spoke. Begin the day by wishing it the way it actually is.

## Exercise (10 min)
List three things that already happened today that you mildly resented. After each, write: *"This happened. I will not argue with that it happened. I will choose my response."*

## Journal Prompt
What is one thing I keep demanding be different, that I could simply allow to be as it is?