Happy Monday!
Let me give a brief about Marcus Aurelius before I share 1 interesting story, 2 quotes to think about and 3 short lessons from him for you to read this week.
Marcus Aurelius was emperor of Rome during the 2nd century AD, the last in a line of five emperors known to have ruled Rome with authority, humanity, and competence. We know him today as one of the Stoics.
He was born into an established Roman family, but not the royal lineage. From these beginnings, it would seem a remote possibility that he would one day become emperor of the Roman Empire, let alone one of the most famous Roman emperors.
1 STORY FOR YOU
An opportunity to practice virtue
The news must have come as a shock to him. A personal and family friend of Marcus Aurelius had betrayed him. Cassius, a general under Marcus in Syria, had been declared emperor by legions in Egypt. Despite the shock, Marcus kept quiet. He hoped the news was false and this event would blow over as a misunderstanding.
Eventually, the news was confirmed by a local governor. There was a revolt and a likely civil war led by one Marcus considered a personal friend. The army Marcus was leading against a barbarian uprising began to gossip. This event couldn’t be hidden any longer. The true emperor of Rome would have to address his troops and react to this usurper.
The result would be a speech that must have left the army stunned at points. They would have known their emperor lived his philosophy of stoicism, but the words he uttered must have been unbelievable to them. No person, despite being noble, could be so calm and measured dealing with betrayal by one so close.
I’m sure you’ve known the pain of betrayal. It’s an act of unforgivable duplicity. It takes a special kind of creature to abuse your good nature.
The 9th and final circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno is dedicated to traitors and those who committed treachery. It’s most infamous inmate being Judas Iscariot, one whose name is synonymous with deceit. The general thought of hell is a place of fire, but in this circle, the damned are sentenced to a punishment of eternity in ice.
Marcus laid out a plan of action for the present and future generations.
Everything he said he did. It wasn’t just philosophy of the mind, it was conducted in the real world. Not only was this conducted in his time, but he left his action as an example to all those who would come after.
The army may have expected a fiery speech about treachery, but they didn’t get that. Marcus would announce he would forgive Cassius and those who sided with him in the revolt. He would use this horrific event as an opportunity to practice virtue — kindness and forgiveness.
He would simultaneously act as a cheerleader to encourage his troops, a wise father giving an example, and a stoic sage teaching how to relate to other people.
Stunningly, Marcus would also announce that he would have resigned the throne if Cassius would have convinced him and the Senate it would have been the right thing to do.
Marcus would raise the forces to quell the rebellion, but would give the perpetrators every chance to surrender with no consequences. He would use the event as an example to his fellow Romans and to us this very day.
In the end, Marcus’ legions would never have to raise a sword. Cassius’ own men would turn against him and kill him. Marcus would still use the event to show tolerance to the traitors. He would even put the family of Cassius under his own personal protection.
2 QUOTES FROM HIM
“Is any man afraid of change? What can take place without change? What then is more pleasing or more suitable to the universal nature? And can you take a hot bath unless the wood for the fire undergoes a change? And can you be nourished unless the food undergoes a change? And can anything else that is useful be accomplished without change? Do you not see then that for yourself also to change is just the same, and equally necessary for the universal nature?”
“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.”
3 LEARNINGS FOR YOU
Ignore what others are doing.
“Do not waste what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbors. Anything that distracts you from fidelity to the Ruler within you— means a loss of opportunity for some other task.”
We have a limited time on earth. Why waste our precious energy worrying about our neighbours? Why do we care what they are doing, what they are up to, and what they think of us?
What we need to do is focus on our task at hand. What is our task? Whatever is our calling on earth — whether that means creating art, empowering others, or being a loving parent.
With social media, we are addicted to what others are doing. We waste our mental energy being envious of others. We compare ourselves to them — we feel frustrated that we aren’t as successful as our peers. We look at others with fancy cars, fancy cameras, and fancy houses.
What if we spent our entire life ignoring what others are doing — and only focused on ourselves?
Be grateful
“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
No matter how wealthy or successful we are, we can never get everything that we want.
Happiness isn’t having everything in the world. Rather, happiness is being grateful for all the blessings we already have.
You are rising for the work of mankind
As humans, we live to help one another. No man is his own island. And the more we help others, the more we gain. It is a win-win scenario.
No person would want to live on Earth if nobody else existed. Society is the glue which holds us together, and it is the reason we are alive and the reason we live.
There are days where living is hard. We don’t want to get out of bed. We don’t have motivation or inspiration.
Marcus Aurelius often felt like this. The meditation he gave himself to encourage himself was this:
“At day’s first light have in readiness, against disinclination to leave your bed, the thought that ‘I am rising for the work of man.’ Must I grumble at setting out to do what I was born for, and for the sake of which I have been brought into the world? Is this the purpose of my creations to lie here under the blankets and keep myself warm? ‘Ah, but it is a great deal more pleasant!’ Was it for pleasure, then, that you were born, and not for work, not for effort?”
We’re not put on earth to feel pleasure. You don’t exist to eat delicious foods, to see exotic places, or to ‘feel good.’ You exist for your fellow man and woman.
What brings us true happiness in life? It isn’t just filling ourselves with pleasure. Rather, it is helping others and doing what we were made for.
That’s it from me, until next Monday! Be safe and stay indoors :)
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