The Kiss

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  “Ryabovitch pulled the bed-clothes over his head, curled himself up in bed, and tried to gather together the floating images in his mind and to combine them into one whole. But nothing came of it. He soon fell asleep, and his last thought was that someone had caressed him and made him happy—that something extraordinary, foolish, but joyful and delightful, had come into his life. The thought did not leave him even in his sleep. When he woke up the sensations of oil on his neck and the chill of peppermint about his lips had gone, but joy flooded his heart just as the day before.” The Kiss By Anton Chekhov (1860–1904)

Enchiridion 23: Contentment

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"If you ever happen to turn your attention to externals for the pleasure of any one, be assured that you have ruined your scheme of life. Be contented then, in everything, with being a philosopher; and if you wish to seem so likewise to any one, appear so to yourself, and it will suffice you." (Epictetus, Enchiridion 23)

The principle is simple: be content with who you are.

“We all love ourselves more than other people, but care about their opinion more than our own." (Marcus Aurelius)

Simple, and worth the meditation.

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