Meditations

"The only thing that isn't worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don't."

This nearly 2000 year old journal from a Roman emperor is not my typical read, but I've decided to keep a journal and thought reading published journals may give me some inspiration. Marcus is known as the last good emperor of Rome, so it was interesting reading the philosophy of a man held in such high esteem.

His entries consist of practical philosophy that are repeated throughout all of Meditations. He would often remind himself of the brevity of life, the deterministic quality of external events, the oneness of all things. That the purpose of human life is to help others. Being a private journal, there is naturally a lot of repetition of thought, so I believe this is best read over several sittings.

Many of his entries were also hilariously applicable to modern living, such as “when you have trouble getting out of bed,” or to not be “irritated at people's smell or bad breath.” Nearly 2000 years have passed and people still haven't changed huh?

However, Marcus's rational understanding of the world leaves no room to enjoy external events. I understand this is the whole point of his philosophy, but it was saddening to read “to acquire indifference to pretty singing, to dancing...” when humans have such uniquely developed sensibility. Why not risk the pain of losing something wonderful in order to experience joy? Though I also understand that Marcus's extreme thoughts are a result of his position as an emperor in 170 AD, where sickness and loss was very prevalent in his life.

In summary, this was a good book on the importance of perspective, and the role it plays in the acceptance of others and external events. I found myself applying Marcus's ideas to my life between reading, and I will continue to incorporate the exercises into my daily life moving forward.