Epicurus would, were he alive today, strongly advise us to avoid getting distraught and upset about the state of the world, the ugly politics, the chaos, the partisanship, the rudeness and vulgarity that has been stoked by extremists, modern media and mutual intolerance. Even on this Christmas day this is a difficult thing to do, and I personally struggle to practice what I preach – it is sometimes incredibly difficult. But we have to remember that we cannot single-handedly change the world; all we can do is to be resolutely courteous, kind and thoughtful of others, listening and contributing constructively, respecting other points of view and setting an example of tolerance and relaxed good humour.