"But my nose is running!' says the peasant. 'Then wipe it, fool, that is what you have hands for.'"

In 1881, Booker T. Washington arrived in Tuskegee, Alabama. He had been hired to open a school for black students. He expected a building, books, and desks. He found nothing. There was no schoolhouse, land, or money. There was only a leaky shanty next to a church. It rained inside the classroom.

Washington had every right to complain. He had been born a slave, and he was facing a system designed to crush him. The lack of a building was a massive injustice. It was a very big "runny nose."

He didn't complain. He looked at his hands. He realized the soil around them was clay, so he taught his students how to make bricks. They dug the clay, molded the bricks, and built a kiln.

It was a disaster at first. The kiln collapsed three times. They lost thousands of bricks. Washington had to pawn his own watch to buy a new kiln, but they kept working. They baked the bricks, then they built the walls. They built their own dormitories, and classrooms. They literally built Tuskegee Institute out of the mud they were standing on.

Epictetus uses a crude joke to teach a profound lesson. A student whines to him that his nose is running. He wants Epictetus to solve it. He wants God to solve it. Epictetus replies, "You have hands, don't you? Wipe it!" We often act like the student. We look at the unfairness of the world, at the problems in our lives. We ask, "Why is this happening to me?" We wait for the universe to bring us a tissue.

The universe doesn't carry tissues, but it gave you hands. It gave you resources. It gave you a mind. If the problem exists, the tool to fix it usually exists too. Complaining is an insult to your own physical resources. Stop praying for a world without runny noses, and start using your hands.

Errors & Corrections

• Don't wait for the tissue. We wait for a savior. We wait for the government or the boss to fix the mess. They aren't coming. You're the savior. Wipe it yourself.
• Don't curse the mucus. We waste energy being angry that the problem exists. "It shouldn't be this way." Maybe not. But it is this way. Anger doesn't unclog the nose. Action does.
• Don't pretend you are helpless. You have hands. You have skills. You have a brain. When you complain, you're pretending you're powerless. You're lying to yourself.

Applications to Modern Life

Work

The legacy code is a mess. The documentation is missing. You can complain in the Slack channel for an hour. That changes nothing. Or, you can spend that hour refactoring the code. Be the one who fixes the broken window.

Leadership

The budget gets cut. The project timeline is shortened. A weak leader whines to the team about upper management. A Stoic leader looks at the constraints. They say, "Okay. We have fewer bricks. Let's build a smaller, stronger wall." They get to work.

Athleticism & Sport

It's raining on race day. Your shoes are soaked. The course is muddy. The "nose" is running. Don't sulk in the tent. Tie your shoes tighter, adjust your pace, and run in the mud. Everyone else has to run in it too.

Politics

You don't like a local law. You don't like the school board's decision. Don't just post about it. Go to the meeting. Speak up. Organize a group. If you aren't willing to use your hands to shape the clay of society, you lose the right to complain about the shape of the pot.

Social Media

You see something offensive. You want to screenshot it and repost it to make your commentary about it visible. You're just spreading the mucus. Block it. Mute it. Create something positive instead. Use your hands to build, not to point.

Interpersonal Relationships

The sink is clogged. The trash is full. You can fight with your partner about whose turn it is. You can steward resentment. Or you can just take out the trash. It takes two minutes. The peace you buy is worth the effort.

Maxims

• You have hands. Use them.
• Complaining is a waste of spirit.
• Build the school with your own clay.

In-depth Concepts

Autexousion (Self-Power/Agency)

This is the power of self-determination. God or Nature gave you the Autexousion to handle the impressions that come your way. The runny nose is an impression. The wiping is the exercise of your power.

Chreia (Use/Need)

Epictetus often talks about the proper use of things. Hands are for wiping. Minds are for solving. Problems are for testing. When you complain, you're misusing the equipment.