Philosopher Epictetus said “We suffer not from the events in our lives but from our judgement about them.”. Stoicism teaches us that the world is a giant web of cause and effect, and while we might not have control over the events that affect us, we do have control on our reaction to them.
This starts by constantly asking ourselves if events are in our control or not. If they are in our control then act on it but if not then stay calm, accept, and move on.
Suffering is having to abruptly accept change and the truth. We have to learn to go through life with the thought that not everything is in our control, that nothing is permanent and change is inevitable.
Spouses leave, and loved ones pass away, all these are part of life and they are not exclusive events that only happen to us. Things do and will get worse, always know that and play that scenario in your head over and over again, and through all that know just one thing, You Will Be Okay.
We all possess strength within us to get us through anything. All it requires is for us to keep calm, approach the tough times in our lives with rationale while accepting those that we can’t change.