Opinions

October 4th

„You always own the option of having no opinion”
Marcus Aurelius.

I am not sure where I found this quote but it seems very relevant today. And I am not talking about other people and their opinions — let them have them, let them talk and make fools of themselves, let them share their opinions on every subject possible, asked or not, relevant or not. I learned not to care about it, and since I am no longer present on social media except for this account on Medium (over the last several years I deleted my accounts and stopped using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit) I am no longer subjected to the constant barrage of people talking and sharing their opinions. And I feel much better and calmer because of that. I still get the news and am well informed about what is happening around the world without the temptation to read other opinions and without the smugness of feeling superior.

The point I want to make about this quote is me and the way I react to different stimuli, be it news and books I read, or conversations I participate in, or just my thoughts I occasionally have. I do have some ingrained opinions on many subjects that I feel might already be outdated and wrong but they are comfortable and familiar. There are also many subjects where I know I need to educate myself before having an informed opinion. And there are subjects that I already know are so complex that is beyond my ability to understand them and to form any opinion beyond the majority consensus. No matter all that — I frequently talk and share it before catching myself and pulling back.

So what I trying to say is that it is ok not to have an opinion and most definitely it is fine not to share those that one might already have with everyone. And especially on social media. And this is my opinion which I just did share. Here. On social media.

Can we keep it a secret?