The man who has no inner-life is a slave to his surroundings.

Without something steady inside you, whatever happens around you decides how you feel. A rude stranger sets the tone of your morning, a room’s mood becomes your mood, the news becomes your temperament. An inner life is not withdrawal from the world but a place to stand while the world moves. It is built from attention you give to your own thinking, not from anything anyone hands you.

Notice one moment today when your state was set entirely by something outside you. Then find fifteen minutes with no input at all, and see what is still there when nothing is pushing.