consciously, with understanding; some without knowing it. (I
think this is what Heraclitus meant when he said that “those
who sleep are also hard at work”—that they too collaborate
in what happens.) Some of us work in one way, and some in
others. And those who complain and try to obstruct and
thwart things—they help as much as anyone. The world
needs them as well.
So make up your mind who you’ll choose to work with.
The force that directs all things will make good use of you
regardless—will put you on its payroll and set you to work.
But make sure it’s not the job Chrysippus speaks of: the bad
line in the play, put there for laughs.
- Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or Asclepius
Demeter’s? And what about each of the stars—different, yet
working in common? - If the gods have made decisions about me and the things
that happen to me, then they were good decisions. (It’s hard
to picture a god who makes bad ones.) And why would they
expend their energies on causing me harm? What good would
it do them—or the world, which is their primary concern?
And if they haven’t made decisions about me as an
individual, they certainly have about the general welfare.
And anything that follows from that is something I have to
welcome and embrace.