“If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you’d be furious. But 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?”
Epictetus, Enchiridion.

 

What do other people do that you find upsetting or disturbing? Why is that? What does it tell you about the beliefs and values you hold? It is not in your control whether or not other people indulge in things you do not agree with or approve of. But it is in your control to choose your subsequent reaction.

 

This does not mean that you should tolerate or change your view of upsetting things to the point that you become complacent or even complicit. After all, it was Edmund Burke who pointed out that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”