Meditations
Never aging and full of wisdom, the thoughts of Emperor-Philosopher Marcus Aurelius in Meditations teach resilience, self-discipline, and virtue—possibly the single most important reading for resilience practitioners.
Meditations is a collection of personal reflections by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher, written as a guide for self-improvement and ethical living. The work, composed in Greek during his military campaigns, emphasizes key principles of stoic philosophy, which he refers to as the doctrine of the three “disciplines”: the disciplines of perception, of action and of the will.
“Objective judgment, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance – now, at this very moment – of all external events. That’s all you need.”
The discipline of perception requires that we maintain absolute objectivity in thought and judgment. We must learn to remove emotions from our assessments. Events and objects themselves are not the problem—it is our interpretation of them that causes distress.
“You ability to control your thoughts – treat it with respect… The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes the colour of your thoughts.”
“Nothing is so conductive to spiritual growth as this capacity for logical and accurate analysis of everything that happens to us.”
Aurelius warns against inappropriate value judgments—labeling things as “good” or “evil” when, in reality, they are neither.
“If we limited “good” and “bad” to our own actions, we’d have no call to challenge God, or to treat other people as enemies.”
He encourages us to remind ourselves of life’s transience and the constant change happening around us. By doing so, we stay grounded and avoid placing too much importance on minor events.
“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think”.
“The world is nothing but change. Our life is only perception. ”
“… leaves that the wind Drives earthward; such are the generations of men… And the tree puts forth others to replace them.”
The discipline of action relates to the purpose of life. As human beings, we are part of nature, and our duty is to align ourselves with its demands. This means performing to the best of our ability the roles assigned to us within the larger, cosmic logos. Marcus repeatedly asserts that we are made for others, not for ourselves, and that our nature is fundamentally unselfish. Therefore, our actions should be directed toward the collective good. His emphasis on maintaining an unselfish purpose is a recurring theme throughout Meditations. We should only work towards proper understanding, unselfish action, truthful speech.
“People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward are wasting their time – even when hard at work.”
“Any action not directed towards a social end (directly or indirectly) is a disturbance to your life…”
Pleasure and indulgence, Marcus argues, do not lead to true happiness but are instead distractions from a meaningful life.
“The human soul degrades itself … when it is overpowered by pleasure or pain.”
“If you persue pleasure, you can hardly avoid wrongdoing.”
“The mind without passions is a fortress. No place is more secure.”
The discipline of will relates to things outside our control. We control our actions and are responsible for them. Things outside our control have no ability to harm us, If we maintain the right mindset. Acts of wrongdoing by another human harm this human not the victim.
“Choose not to be harmed – and you won’t feel harmed.”
“It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character. Otherwise it cannot harm you – inside or out.”
“And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!”
Obstacles, rather than being setbacks, present opportunities for growth.
“The thing itself is no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.”
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
In all situation we should maintain composure and don’t lose out temper.
“There is nothing manly about rage. It’s courtesy and kindness that define a human being.”