Meditations is undoubtedly one of the greatest books of all time as a lasting guide to living a just and good life. Written by the Stoic philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180), it reveals a mind of exceptional and authentic clarity, as well as a spirit finely attuned to human destiny. Described by historians as the last of the ‘Five Good Emperors,’ Marcus Aurelius used Stoic principles to give him a rich framework for leading with integrity and insightful wisdom at a time of immense turmoil in the Roman Empire.
It has inspired great thinkers like Goethe, writers like Robert Louis Stevenson and statesmen like Theodore Roosevelt.
What’s unique about Meditations is that it is was never written for a public audience. In that respect it is perhaps the only document of its kind ever made.
While the original title of Meditations (Ta eis heauton) roughly translates as ‘To Himself’ – the benefits are universally applicable. It is the clearly expressed private thoughts on paper of a powerful ruler who was focused on living a disciplined, responsible, and good life. Meditations is probably the definitive guide to self-discipline, strength of integrity, values, humility, and self-actualization.
Written as a collection of twelve books of short sayings varying in length from a sentence to a long paragraph in length, these are easily digested as stand alone pieces of everyday wisdom. Certain key ideas and themes recur repeatedly throughout Meditations reflecting their importance to Marcus Aurelius in life. This is a key part of Stoic philosophy (of which Meditations is perhaps the best example), being continually reminded of key ideas that support you in living your values and the person you aspire to become.
1. Character Traits of the Good Stoic.
In the first book of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius expresses gratitude and appreciation to the many people that have influenced his life, particularly in his development as a Stoic philosopher. These traits include honesty, integrity, cheerfulness in the face of obstacles, limitation of desires (willpower), not paying attention to things of little consequence, calm objective decision making with commitment, and valuing reason and rational thought beyond all else.
2. The Constancy of Change.
‘Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone—those that are now, and those to come. Existence flows past us like a river: The ‘what’ is in constant flux, the ‘why’ has a thousand variations. Nothing is stable, not even what’s right here.’
Change is constant in the Universe and also in your own lives. Marcus Aurelius reminds you to live well, that you could die at any moment and that life is fleeting. As change is inevitable, he encourages you to reassess your fear of death . He challenges you to think about the inevitability of death, and to accept it, a reminder that all you will lose is the present moment as that is all you ever have. A long and short life are no different in that both simply lose the present moment and die for an eternity.
Perhaps the most powerful lesson in Meditations relates to your own mortality and the brevity of life. Given that you have an unknowable period of time left to live, best to spend it wisely doing good in the service of others. Deepen your understanding of death by reflecting on all the people that have come before you, what is left of them now, and what will later be left of you. Focus on doing good for others with the unknowable amount of time you have left to live. To make this a part of your life, reflect regularly on the immutable fact that you will die.
‘Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What’s closer to nature’s heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood as it was? Eat food without transforming it? Can any vital process take place without something being changed?’
3. Resilience And The Power of the Rational Mind.
‘You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.’
4. Living according to Nature
‘But I who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong, that it is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed, but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity, I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him, For we are made for co-operation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away.’
Life is like the seasons and it is helpful to flow from one to the next. It is not events in themselves that harm you but your interpretation of what they mean. In other words you see the world not as it is but as you are.
5. Fame and Desires are Not Worth Pursuing.
Chop Wood and Carry Water. Live your purpose, do what you’re meant to do.
‘Consider that as the heaps of sand piled on one another hide the former sands, so in life the events which go before are soon covered by those which come after.’
Marcus Aurelius repeatedly highlights how so many famous men are simply forgotten, that there are no immortal actions. Because fame fades away into obscurity, the pursuit of it is simply ego driven vanity. This idea also applies to praise as the intrinsic beauty of something or someone is not altered by ones opinion of it or that of another. To the Stoic, being a good person and doing good things is simply part of the job of being human, and not something requiring praise or flattery.
Desires of many types are driven by ego and can lead to a deepening of ego driven destructive behaviour. Rather than satisfy the desire or remove a fearful situation, Marcus Aurelius prays for acceptance of the situation and for removal of the desire.
6. Acceptance of Shortcomings of Others.
‘It’s silly to try to escape other people’s faults. They are inescapable. Just try to escape your own.’
Stoics believed that all people, both good and bad, form part of the same interconnected organism and universe. Therefore if you hurt one person you hurt them all.
‘What injures the hive, injures the bee.’
People who act well or badly do so from their own position of knowledge or ignorance. Let go of petty resentments towards others. Forgive those who cause you harm. Rather than finding fault with or judging others, which sets you up for disappointment and negativity, spend time instead focusing on your own self- improvement.
7. Focus on The Present
‘Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand, and ask, “Why is this so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?” You’ll be embarrassed to answer. Then remind yourself that past and future have no power over you. Only the present—and even that can be minimized. Just mark off its limits. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against that…well, then, heap shame upon it.’
Let go of ruminations and regrets of the past or unnecessary worry and anxiety about the future. For certain prepare for adversity and anticipate how events may unfold. However, dont allow your enjoyment of the present moment to be paralyzed by fear or procrastination from action.
8. Focus on your Strengths
Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand, and ask, “Why is this so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?” You’ll be embarrassed to answer. Then remind yourself that past and future have no power over you. Only the present—and even that can be minimized. Just mark off its limits. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against that…well, then, heap shame upon it.’
Rather than dwelling on your doubts or despairing about weakness and wallowing in self pity for what you don’t have, Marcus Aurelius believes it far better to focus on your strengths. Be more mindful of what is in your own control. Your ability to choose your own actions by using more of your inherent strengths.
‘When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re praactically showered with them. It’s good to keep this in mind.’
Perhaps the real tragedy of Marcus Aurelius is that his values and teachings were promptly discarded by his successors. As in all things your own actions always speak louder than your words.
‘Men look for retreats for themselves, the country, the seashore, the hills; and you yourself too, are peculiarly accustomed to feel the same want. Yet all this is very unlike a philosopher, when you may at any hour please retreat into yourself. For nowhere does a man retreat into more quiet or more privacy than into his own mind, especially one who has within such things that he has only to look into, and become at once in perfect ease; and by ease I mean nothing else but good behaviour. Continually, therefore, grant yourself this retreat and repair yourself.’
Stoic principles gave him the tools to lead one of the most powerful empires in human history. Almost every evening Marcus Aurelius wrote in his journal about how to be more just, humble, empathic and wise in the face of life’s challenges. While absolute power can corrupt absolutely, his Meditations as a personal reflection on how to be wiser, stronger and better is a sterling example what a worthy leader he really was.
Words that Inspire – Marcus Aurelius
‘Remember how long you’ve been putting this off, how many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them. At some point you have to recognize what the world it is that you belong to; what power rules it and from what source you spring; it that there is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.’
‘At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’But it’s nicer in here…So you were born to feel ‘nice’? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?— But we have to sleep sometime …Agreed. But nature set a limit on that — as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota.’
‘Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.’
‘You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.’
‘Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.’
‘Don’t give the small things more time than they deserve.’
‘Forget everything else. Keep hold of this alone and remember it: Each one of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see.’
‘The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.’
‘It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.’
‘Yes, 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.’
‘The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.’
‘Not to feel exasperated, or defeated, or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human—however imperfectly—and fully embrace the pursuit that you’ve embarked on.’
‘Don’t behave as if you are destined to live forever. What’s fated hangs over you. As long as you live and while you can, become good now.’
‘Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do…Sanity means tying it to your own actions.’
‘It’s silly to try to escape other people’s faults. They are inescapable. Just try to escape your own.’
‘We should not say ‘I am an Athenian’ or ‘I am a Roman’ but ‘I am a citizen of the Universe’.
‘The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.’
‘You have power over your mind; not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.’
‘Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.’
‘Our life is what our thoughts make it.’
‘The directing mind is that which wakes itself, adapts itself, makes itself of whatever nature it wishes, and makes all that happens to appear in the way it wants.’
‘Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.’
‘Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also.’
‘Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself. Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise.’
‘We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies come from that.’
‘Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it.’
‘Poverty is the mother of crime.’
‘Let not future things disturb you, for you will come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with you the same reason which you now use for present things.’
‘Do every act of your life as if it were your last.’
‘If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.’
‘It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.’
‘You take things you don’t control and define them as ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ And so of course when the ‘bad’ things happen, or the ‘good’ ones don’t, you blame the gods and feel hatred for the people responsible, or those you decide to make responsible.’
You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
‘Let the part of thy soul which leads and governs be undisturbed by the movements in the flesh, whether of pleasure or of pain; and let it not unite with them, but let it circumscribe itself and limit those affects to their parts.’
‘We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.’
‘Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.’
‘Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear.’
‘You can strip away many unnecessary troubles which lie wholly in your own judgment.’
‘The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.’
‘All is ephemeral. – fame and the famous as well.’
‘How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.’
‘Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. Soak it then in such trains of thoughts as, for example: Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible.’
‘Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it is impossible for anyone to accomplish.’
‘Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.’
‘Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.’
‘Begin – to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and though wilt have finished.’
‘Remember this, – that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life.‘
‘Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.’
‘Remember that no man loses any other life than this which he now lives, nor lives any other than this which he now loses.’
‘How quickly all things disappear, in the universe the bodies themselves, but in time the remembrance of them.’
‘Since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly.’
‘Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.’
‘We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.’
‘Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.’
‘Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy.’
‘Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also.’
‘Choose not to be harmed — and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed — and you haven’t been.’
‘It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet.’
‘If anyone can refute me—show me I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change. It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone.’
‘At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work – as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for – the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’
‘When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil.’
‘Not to feel exasperated, or defeated, or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human–however imperfectly–and fully embrace the pursuit that you’ve embarked on.’
‘The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.’
‘No carelessness in your actions. No confusion in your words. No imprecision in your thoughts.’
‘In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.’
‘Blame no one. Set people straight, if you can. If not, just repair the damage. And suppose you can’t do that either. Then where does blaming people get you?’
‘But if a thing is humanly possible, consider it to be within your reach.’
Ask, ‘Why is this so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?’ You’ll be embarrassed to answer.’
‘Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions—not outside.’
‘To live the good life: We have the potential for it. If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.’
‘Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter.’
