How Your Way of Thinking Can Change Everything
I have never really taken an interest in the physical subject of philosophy, though this morning I was looking through my Dictionary.com app's previous words of the day and I found the word from 1 February 2017: ataraxia. Ataraxia is a word that means "a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquility." I took a particular liking to this word because isn't that what everyone wants? Peace of mind? I believe it is the end-goal of everyone, whether they believe it or not.
This word made me take an interest in the philosopher Epicurus. I discovered that his beliefs and mine lined up. For example, here are a few of his quotes:
"Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship."
"Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance."
"The art of living well and the art of dying well are one."
"You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity."
"Happiness is man's greatest aim in life. Tranquility and rationality are the cornerstones of happiness."
"Being happy is knowing how to be content with little."
Of course there are more, but I won't fill this entire article with Epicurean quotes.
In the past, I have been diagnosed with major depression, seasonal affective disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, and I am not saying that changing one's way of thinking can relieve one of any of those because it can't. But, I do believe that change in thought can provide a sense of ataraxia or tranquility, if only for a brief time, and I do believe that change in thought can lessen the weight depression and anxiety can have on a person.
Simple things that I have learned make me reach a state of ataraxia are meditation, closing my eyes and soaking in the sun, giving myself a little extra time in the morning to just lay in bed and breathe, reading outside, taking a long warm shower after being cold for some time, being in the arms of a loved one. The fact that it is winter can make the outdoor activities a bit harder, but the others are also quite effective in my opinion; the more outdoorsy activities can be done inside as well.
If one is thinking about doom and gloom, it will be impossible to reach this state as its definition is quite literally "a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety." If one is thinking more about how to reach this state and taking the proper measures to reach it, it will be all the more in their grasp. Happiness can be obtained if you want to obtain it, even if it is only for just a little bit.