50 Life Lessons From Marcus Aurelius, Emperor Of Rome
Many philosophers that you may have read about were incredibly intelligent and have written about mind-shattering topics. But that is all that they were, philosophers. Marcus Aurelius was emperor of Rome, and was the absolute ruler of his domain. He was educated edu cated by the finest scholars and teachers in the world at the time, and went through things that only a few men that have ever lived will experience. Meditations, despite its title, is a series of personal writings which embodies his ideas on Meditations,despite toic !hilosophy. "t was split into #$ boo%s and was his personal source of guidance and self improvement. Much of it was written in the last decade of his life, while he was leading the Roman army on campaigns ca mpaigns against &ermanic tribes encroaching Rome's borders. His stoic ideas focus on freeing men from the pains and pleasures of the material world. The overall message is that the only way a man can be harmed is to allow his reaction to overpower him.
1. (oncentrate every minute li%e a Roman ) li%e a man ) on doing what's in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with *ustice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. +es, you can ) if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable.
2. How to act ever under compulsion, out of selfishness, without forethought, with misgivings. on't gussy up your thoughts. o surplus words or unnecessary actions. /et the spirit in you represent a man, an adult, a citi0en, a Roman, a ruler. 1a%ing up his post li%e a soldier and patiently awaiting his recall from life. eeding no oath or witness.
(heerfulness. 2ithout re3uiring other people's help. 4r serenity supplied by others. 1o stand up straight ) not straightened.
3. Your abilit to control our t!ou"!ts # treat it $it! respect. %t&s all t!at protects our min' from false perceptions # false to our nature, an' t!at of all rational bein"s. %t&s $!at ma(es t!ou"!tfulness possible, an' affection for ot!er people, an' submission to t!e 'i)ine.
*. For"et e)ert!in" else. +eep !ol' of t!is alone an' remember it Eac! one of us li)es onl no$, t!is brief instant. -!e rest !as been li)e' alrea', or is impossible to see. -!e span $e li)e is small # small as t!e corner of t!e eart! in $!ic! $e li)e it. mall as e)en t!e "reatest reno$n, passe' from mout! to mout! b s!ort/li)e' stic( fi"ures, i"norant ali(e of t!emsel)es an' t!ose lon" 'ea'.
5. Body. oul. Mind. ensations the body. esires the soul. Reasoning the mind. 1o experience sensations even gra0ing beasts d o that. 1o let your desires control you even wild animals do that ) and rutting humans, and tyrants. 1o ma%e your mind your guide to what seems best even people who deny the gods do that. 5ven people who betray their country. "f all the rest is common coin, then what is uni3ue to the good man6 1o welcome with affection what is sent by fate. ot to stain or disturb the spirit within him with a mess of false beliefs. "nstead, to preserve it faithfully, by calmly obeying &od ) saying nothing untrue, doing nothing un*ust. And if the others don't ac%nowledge it ) this life lived in simplicity, humility, cheerfulness ) he doesn't resent them for it, and isn't deterred from following the road where it leads to the end of life. An end to be approached in purity, in serenity, in acceptance, in peaceful unity with what must be.
. Our in$ar' po$er, $!en it obes nature, reacts to e)ents b accommo'atin" itself to $!at it faces # to $!at is possible. %t nee's no specific material. %t pursues its o$n aims as circumstances allo$ it turns obstacles into fuel. As a fire o)er$!elms $!at
$oul' !a)e uenc!e' a lamp. !at&s t!ro$n on top of t!e confla"ration is absorbe', consume' b it # an' ma(es it burn still !i"!er.
4. oes your reputation bother you6 But loo% at how soon we're all forgotten. 1he abyss of endless time that swallows it. 1he emptiness of all those applauding hands. 1he pe ople who praise us ) how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region in which it all ta%es place. 1he whole earth a point in space ) and most of it uninhabited. How many people there will be to admire you, and who they are. 71he world is nothing but change, our life is only perception.8
. (hoose not to be harmed ) and you won't feel harmed. on't feel harmed ) and you haven't been.
6. 1hat every event is the right one. /oo% closely and you'll see. ot *ust the right one overall, but right. As if someone had weighed it out with scales. 9eep loo%ing closely li%e that, and embody it in your actions goodness ) what defines a good person. 9eep to it in everything you do.
10. Beautiful things of any %ind are beautiful in themselves and sufficient to themselves. !raise is extraneous. 1he ob*ect of praise remains what it was ) no better and no worse. 1his applies, " thin%, even to 7beautiful8 things in ordinary life ) physical ob*ects, artwor%s. oes anything genuinely beautiful need supplementing6 o more than *ustice does ) or truth, or %indness, or humility. Are any of those improved by being praised6 4r damaged by contempt6 "s an emerald suddenly flawed if no one admires it6 4r gold, or ivory, or purple6 /yres6 9nives6 :lowers6 Bushes6
11. Lo)e t!e 'iscipline ou (no$, an' let it support ou. Entrust e)ert!in" $illin"l to t!e "o's, an' t!en ma(e our $a t!rou"! life # no one&s master an' no one&s sla)e.
12. othing that goes on in anyone else's mind can harm you. or can the shifts and changes in the world around you. ) 1hen where is harm to be found6 "n your capacity to see it. /et the part of you that ma%es that *udgment %eep 3uiet even if the body it's attached to is stabbed or burnt, or stin%ing with pus, or consumed by cancer.
13. %t&s unfortunate t!at t!is !as !appene'. 7o. %t&s fortunate t!at t!is !as !appene' an' %&)e remaine' un!arme' b it # not s!attere' b t!e present or fri"!tene' of t!e future. %t coul' !a)e !appene' to anone. 8ut not e)erone coul' !a)e remaine' un!arme' b it. ! treat t!e one as a misfortune rat!er t!an t!e ot!er as fortunate9
1*. 1a%e refuge in these two things ". othing that can happen to me that isn't natural. "". " can %eep from doing anything that &od and my own spirit don't approve. o one can force me to.
15. 1he things you thin% about determine the 3uality of your mind. +our soul ta%es on the color of your thoughts. (olor it with a run of thoughts li%e these ". Anywhere you can lead your life, you can lead a good one. "". 1hings gravitate toward what they were intended for. 2hat things gravitate toward is their goal.
1. othing happens to anyone that he can't endure. 1he same things happen to other people, and they weather it unharmed ) out of sheer obliviousness or because they want to display 7character.8 "s wisdom really so much wea%er than ignorance and vanity6
14. 1hings have no hold on the soul. 1hey have no access to it, cannot move or direct it. "t is moved and directed by itself alone. "t ta%es the things before it and interprets them as it sees fit.
1. 9eep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone ) those that are now, and those to come. 5xistence flows past us li%e a river the 7what8 is in constant flux, the 7why8 has a thousand variations. othing is stable, not even wh at's right here. 1he infinity of past and future gapes before us ) a chasm whose depths we cannot see. o it would ta%e an idiot to feel self-importance or distress. 4r any indignation, either. As if things that irritate us lasted.
16.
1he mind is the ruler of the soul. "t should remain unstirred by agitations of the flesh ) gentle and violent ones ali%e. ot mingling with them, but fencing itself off and %eeping those feelings in their place. 2hen they ma%e their way into your thoughts, through the sympathetic lin% between the mind and body, don't try to resist the temptation. 1he sensation is natural. But don't let the mind start in with *udgments calling it 7goo d8 or 7bad.8
20. !en :arre', una)oi'abl, b circumstances, re)ert at once to ourself, an' 'on&t lose t!e r!t!m more t!an ou can !elp. You&ll !a)e a better "rasp of t!e !armon if ou (eep on "oin" bac( to it.
21. 7ot to assume it&s impossible because ou fin' it !ar'. 8ut to reco"ni;e t!at if it&s !umanl possible, ou can 'o it too.
22. " am composed of a body and a soul. 1hings that happen to the body are meaningless. "t cannot be discriminate among them. othing has meaning to my mind except its own actions. 2hich are within its own control. And it's only the immediate ones that matter. "ts past and future actions are too meaningless.
23. +ou ta%e things you don't control and define them as 7good8 or 7bad.8 And so of course when the 7bad8 things happen, or the 7good8 ones don't, you blame the gods and feel hatred for the people responsible ) or those you decide to ma%e responsible.
2*. !en ou nee' encoura"ement, t!in( of t!e ualities t!e people aroun' ou !a)e t!is one&s ener", t!at one&s mo'est, anot!er&s "enerosit, an' so on. 7ot!in" is as encoura"in" as $!en )irtues are )isibl embo'ie' in t!e people aroun' us, $!en $e&re practicall s!o$ere' $it! t!em. %t&s "oo' to (eep t!is in min'.
25. % can control m t!ou"!ts as necessar t!en !o$ can % be trouble'9 !at is outsi'e m min' means not!in" to it. Absorb t!at lesson an' our feet stan' firm.
2.
o matter what anyone says or does, my tas% is to be good. /i%e gold or emerald or purple repeating to itself, 7o matter what anyone says or does, my tas% is to be emerald, my color undiminished.8
24. 1he mind doesn't get in its own way. "t doesn't frighten itself into desires. "f other things can scare or hurt it, let them; it won't go down that road on the basis of its own perceptions. /et the body avoid discomfort, and if it feels it, say so. But the soul is what feels fear and pain, and what conceives of them in the first place, and it suffers nothing. Because it will never conclude that it has. 1he mind itself has no needs, except for those it creates itself. "t is undisturbed, except for its own disturbances. 9nows no obstructions, except those from within.
2. :rightened of change6 But what can exist without it6 2hat's closer to nature's heart6 (an you ta%e a hot bath and leave the firewood as it was6 5at food without transforming it6 (an any vital process ta%e place without something being changed6 (an't you see6 "t's *ust the same with you ) and *ust as vital to nature.
26. 1o feel affection for people even when they ma%e mista%es is uni3uely human. +ou can do it, if you simply recogni0e that they're human too, that they act out of ignorance, against their will, and that you'll both be dead before long. And, above all, that they haven 't really hurt you. 1hey haven't diminished your ability to choose.
30. Loo( at t!e past # empire succee'in" empire # an' from t!at, e
31. on't pay attention to other people's minds. /oo% straight ahead, where nature is leading you ) nature in general, through the things that happen to you; and your own nature, through your own actions.
32. 1hin% of yourself as dead. +ou have lived your life. ow ta%e what's left and live it properly.
33.
5ither pain affects the body
3*. on't try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. tic% with the situation at hand and as%, 72hy is this so unbearable6 2hy can't " endure it68 +ou'll be embarrassed to answer. 1hen remind yourself that past and future have no power over you. 4nly the present.
35. top percei)in" t!e pain ou ima"ine an' ou&ll remain completel unaffecte'. E
3. Remember that when it withdraws into itself and finds contentment there, the mind is invulnerable. "t does nothing against its will, even if its resistance is irrational. 1he mind without passions is a fortress. o place is more secure. 4nce we ta%e refuge there we are safe forever. ot to see this is ignorance. 1o see it and not see% safety means misery.
34. 4ther people's wills are as independent of mine as their breath and bodies. 2e may exist for the sa%e of one another, but our will rules its own domain.
3. 1o privilege pleasure over pain ) life over death, fame over anonymity ) is clearly blasphemous.
36. 1o do harm is to do yourself harm. 1o do an in*ustice is to do yourself an in*ustice ) it degrades you.
*0. 4b*ective *udgment, now, at this very moment. >nselfish action, now, at this very moment. 2illing acceptance ) now, at this very moment ) of all external events. 1hat's all you need.
*1. 1oday " escaped from anxiety. 4r no, " discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions ) not outside.
*2. Enter t!eir min's, an' ou&ll fin' t!e :u'"es ou&re so afrai' of # an' !o$ :u'iciousl t!e :u'"e t!emsel)es.
*3. (onsider the lives led once by others, long ago, the lives to be led by others after you, the lives led even now, in foreign lands. How many people don't even %now your name. How many will soon have forgotten it. How many offer you praise now ) and tomorrow, perhaps, contempt. 1hat to be remembered is worthless. /i%e fame. /i%e everything.
**. 2hen you run up against someone else's shamelessness, as% yourself this "s a world without shamelessness possible6 o. 1hen don't as% the impossible. 1here have to be shameless people in the world. 1his is one of them. 1he same for someone vicious or untrustworthy, or with any other defect. Remembering that the whole world class has to exist will ma%e you more tolerant of its members.
*5. piders are proud of catching flies, men of catching hares, fish in a net, boars, bears, etc. How they all change into one another ) ac3uire the ability to see that. Apply it constantly; use it to train yourself. othing is as conducive to spiritual growth.
*. 1o feel grief, anger or fear is to try to escape from something decreed by the ruler of all things, now or in the past or in the future. And that ruler is law, which governs what happens to each of us. 1o feel grief or anger is to become a fugitive ) a fugitive from *ustice.
*4. (haracteristics of the rational soul elf perception, self-examination, and the power to ma%e of itself whatever it wants. "t reaps its own harvest, un li%e plants, whose yield is gathered in by others. "t reaches its intended goal, no matter where the limit of its life is set.
*.
%f ou 'on&t !a)e a consistent "oal in life, ou can&t li)e it in a consistent $a.
*6. 5verything you're trying to reach ) by ta%ing the low way round ) you could have right now, this moment. "f you'd only stop thwarting your own attempts. "f you'd only let go of the past, entrust the future to !rovidence, and guide the present toward reverence and *ustice.
50. %t ne)er ceases to ama;e me $e all lo)e oursel)es more t!an ot!er people, but care more about t!eir opinion t!an our o$n.
