The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.Epictetus

The particular idea of indifference to external conditions was often a topic of debate in many of my acting classes in college. The discussions usually centered around the notion that artists, particularly actors, find this (relative to relationships and our happiness off-stage) to be more challenging than most because we’re taught and encouraged to react and reflect as part of our craft. Acting is reacting. One professor argued, inaction is still an action. This is another leap, but I’m also reminded of one of my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes… “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Makes me wonder if happiness, relative to Epictetus’s quote, is achievable at the expense of art and experience.