Massimo Pigliucci

You cannot reasonably complain.

You could complain, but it's not reasonable to complain about all the dust in the shop because that's an inevitable byproduct of the fact that you're working wood.

And so similarly, to complain about the fact that some people behave irrationally or inconsiderately or rudely or whatever it is under certain circumstances,

It's like, what, have you never met human beings before?

Don't you know that this is the way it works?

which incidentally doesn't mean that people always do that, right?

Or that they're incorrigible.

So that's why Marcus says, you go and teach them, talk to them, right?

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.