“The raw material for the work of a good and excellent person is their own guiding reason. The body is that of the doctor and the physical trainer, and the farm the farmer’s.” Epictetus, Discourses.

Your own guiding reason is in your own hands and not the hands of others. You have control over what you think is right or wrong. The moments when your awareness is raised might be when you are experiencing something unwanted, unexpected, unplanned. Or they might happen during deliberate moments of mindful reflection. Either way, the raw materials require daily attention and work if they are to be shaped into something good.