Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.

Epictetus (50–135 CE) was a Greek Stoic philosopher who believed that philosophy was a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. He taught that all external events are beyond one’s control, and thus one should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. In addition, Epictetus believed in individual responsibility for one’s actions through rigorous self-discipline.