Beyond Our Power

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

Epictetus

Sometimes it’s the simple things we take for granted. I flip a light switch on and expect light. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has an “Electricity Explained ” article that gives a high level of where our electrical power comes from. In the case of turbine power, something – steam, flowing water, wind, combustion gases – turns a rotor. Connected to that rotor is a shaft which is connected to a “strator ”. This is the piece that has magnets inside where the rotating magnetic field is converted to electrical current. And there you go, magical light switches.

About the author

Epictetus , (c. 50 – c. 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he spent the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion.