Flexible

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” -John Lennon

“The essence of philosophy is that a [person] should so live that their happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.” -Epictetus

Routines and plans are great. They’re necessary. They keep us disciplined and focused.

But then there are mornings like today where you wake up and the dog pooped all over the rug. You need to clean it up and that time now takes the place of your morning routine. (In case you’re wondering, yes, this happened to me today and yes, there’s a metaphor in there that applies to producing your passion project.)

This is where Stoicism helps. Where understanding that we can’t control what happens to us, we can only control our response. Which can be one of two choices.

One. Stay rigid to our plans. Be tied to a fixed concept of how the day should go. Be brittle and break when things don’t go our way. Get angry.

Or.

Two. Be flexible. Be like bamboo. Bend. Think to yourself (as you’re on your hands and knees cleaning smelly poop juice–gross, I know), “Now, this is interesting.” Stay cheerful.

You choose.

P.S. – Today is Giving Tuesday. If you’re able to and so inclined, would love your support of VS. Theatre Company. We’re a 501c3 non-profit and as such, all donations are 100% tax deductible. You can do so via PayPal Here. Or Venmo via the “@vstheatre” handle. Or check. Make payable to “VS. Theatre Company”. Mailing address: 3734 Santa Carlotta Street; La Crescenta, CA 91214. Thank you in advance for your generosity towards VS. or any organizations you support. It truly means a lot.