Protect The Gates But Let The Sun Shine In! I've been trying to work on what external stimuli I allow through the 'gates' of my mind recently in my quest to become a better human. That's why today I'm sharing this photo of the Princes' Gates which I took back in October 2019. The Ancient Stoic Philosophers as well as modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy proponents (& probably many, many other wise people who I'm not mentioning due to my own ignorance) believed that while we cannot control what happens to us in life, we CAN control how we react to things that happen to us. As imparted by Epictetus in 'Enchiridion' in ~125 AD: “If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you’d be furious. Yet you hand over your mind to anyone who comes along, so they may abuse you, leaving it disturbed and troubled—have you no shame in that?" I think Epictetus' words are so very wise & relevant as we continue to navigate a world in the clutches of the ongoing pandemic.* Unless you're a policy maker or a government official or some person of absolutely massive influence, the chances are you're like me & can't directly control the decisions being made in the fight against COVID19. What I can control is how I react (or don't react) to the decisions others are making. I try to keep that in mind every day especially when I'm out and about in the world. I've found it a very useful piece of wisdom and I hope you do too! Every 🔖, every 💬, every 🔃, & every ♥️ is appreciated immensely 🙏🏼😀. How else am I going to get blessed by the algorithm? 😭 *Note: That said, personally I don't love the use of the word "shame" because it implies something inherently wrong or bad about a person (as opposed to guilt or regret which imply things about the person that they themselves can remedy) • • • • • • #archlovers #princesgates #sunset #TorontoPhoto #SeeTorontoNow #symmetrical #6ixwalks #blogto #dailyhiveto #Torontoclx #torontoontario #googlepixel #googlelocalguide #exhibition #cne #architecture_hunter #nowtoronto #Canada #ontario #triumphalarch #dailyphoto #posteveryday #landscapelovers #6ixwalks #symmetry #creativeoptic #gateway #epic_captures #clickcity #createcommune (at Princes' Gates) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMLs5o5hTfH/?igshid=3mdmthq3te5l