Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already. - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I love history, and looking backward in time; learning from those who have come before me provides great insight into my own life, offers different perspectives and the opportunity to think and act a little differently. One such person is Marcus Aurelius [Roman emperor 161 to 180 AD] so here is a series on some of his words. _{original im src}

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Marcus Aurelius says...

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Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already.

Society has become very materialistic.

We seem to want more of everything and nothing seems ever enough. Consumerism...It drives people and no matter what they have or get, they want more. I believe it leads to unhappiness, disappointment and discontent because when the latest new thing is acquired a person is only momentarily satisfied...until the next latest new thing is released and then they are unhappy they do not have it...the cycle begins again.

But...were people back in Marcus Aurelius' day any less materialistic?

I think they were because they didn't have so many things bombarded at them by corporations and marketers, however I also believe they desired things just as much as those in today's society, just different things, for different reasons.

In the past, people didn't have many possessions; I'm not talking about the Roman Emperor, he had a lot, I mean the average man on the street.

He had a few clothes, a pot for water and a cup, a small table and a stool maybe, cook pot and a spoon, a basket for carrying his food from the market and the tools of his trade. Essentially, people had basic items necessary for survival. I imagine that those things were very important to them. Did they want for more? I assume so, but I think most people were so focused on staying alive, feeding themselves and their families, staying warm and the basic necessities of life they didn't have much time to think about much else.

People lived a more basic life, more simple, and I think they may have been happier than those in modern society who feel compelled to want more things and feel unhappy when they don't have them.

I know people who expend so much time and effort thinking about what they don't have.

They talk about getting this or that, doing one thing or another and thinking that their lives will be much better when they have or do those things. Many people also attach their feeling of self-worth or value to those things...but do those material items really do that for a person? Does having the latest iPhone make a person more attractive, smarter, a better friend, more emotionally connected and so on? I say no.

Dwelling on what a person doesn't have brings anxiety, anxiousness, depression and other negative things. Dwelling upon what a person has, the good things about their lives, does the opposite.

I guess it's all about gratitude. We can wake up each morning happy that we didn't die in our sleep, think about all the things in our lives that we are grateful for, the items and people, and be thankful for our health and that that we have one more day ahead of us and a chance to make it count. Dwelling on those things will keep our thoughts and attitude in the right space and, if they are, we are more likely to be content, to push forward towards better outcomes and to have a more satisfying life.

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