Meditations by Marcus Aurelius [Favorite Books]

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. - Marcus Aurelius

For years I spit back confusion and wrapped myself in the black static of my fantasies. I was a horror writer and so I fancied myself to have black leather wings sewn out of grief and a mind warped by insanity. I created an ego that couldn't accept happiness. A few years ago that changed, and I talk some about that in my PTSD series. A huge part of recovering was learning how to change my thought processes, and to be open to new ideas.

I started branching out in my reading, and picking up different books than my usual glut of horror.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (also available for free in a pdf) was easily one of my favorites reads back in 2017. I'm not one to proselytize and I don't think any singular text or person should be revered. Nothing is sacred in this world, and so you should take the teachings that appeal to you and discard the rest. However if I could I would probably emboss a copy of Meditations in gold for my library to remind myself how useful it's been to me.

Meditations was written by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, and reveals the stoic and virtuous man that he aimed to be amidst a reign marked by disasters and war.

Meditations at its core is about recognizing what's outside of our control, so that we can focus on the things that are.

It's about recognizing that life is preciously finite, all of our actions will ultimately be ground into the dust, so we must focus on what's important

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?’

It's about becoming virtuous not just because it's good, but because it's the best way to maxmize your potential and live your human life as it was meant to be lived.

It's actually a fairly short read, and although a few hundred years old actually quite simple and relatable. Although most of us aren't going to have Emperor sized problems, Marcus Aurelius writes in a way that makes the issues relatable to anyone, which is probably why the book has survived so long.