Massimo Pigliucci

If something bothers you, instead of getting upset and complaining about the world, just do something about it, right?

In another bit of the meditations, he also says, you know, remember that it's really impious not to act on behalf, you know, justly and try to correct injustice.

So this isn't about not doing anything.

It's about a more realistic approach to reality and a less self-centered approach.

Because in a sense, if you complain about the cucumbers and the briars and all that sort of stuff, this is a very self-centered view of reality.

You want the world to always accommodate to your wishes and to your preferences.

But that's insane.

That's an extreme degree of narcissism, which is not healthy.

Oh, yeah.

So the situation was I was supposed to meet my brother in Rome.

You know, Rome is the city where I grew up, so I'm very comfortable navigating everything, including the subway system.

So I get on the subway.

And suddenly I feel this guy right in front of me near the entrance is kind of pushing back very, very hard as if the subway were overcrowded.

But it wasn't overcrowded.

I mean, there was a little bit of people, but not enough to justify that kind of behavior.

So the first thought was, what is this guy doing?

And before I realized what in fact he was doing, it had already happened.

This guy had a friend, an associate behind me who, while I was distracted with the physical pressure of the other one pushing back on me, just...

picked my pocket, right?

So the wallet was gone.