Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.
In the classical world, long before modern psychotherapeutic care made the health benefits of journaling widely known, the well educated may have been taught to do the same. Advice from the Greek philosopher and Stoic, Epictetus (55-135 CE), suggests writing as a tool for moral development and the nurturing of constancy in the face of the unpredictable.
A student of Stoicism, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 CE), seems to have known, and heeded, such counsel. Pensive and critical, evoking both conviction and at times contempt and admonishment, what has become known as his Meditations is a collection of reflections intended for his personal growth.
Like anyone struggling with self-improvement, his thoughts turn predictably around a few dominant themes. Attention in Book IX has come back to the inescapability of change and its disregard of human concerns, including status.
“Look from above at the spectacle of the myriad herds…journeying in storm and calm; diversities of creatures who are being born, coming together, and passing away. Ponder, too, the life led by others long ago, the life that will be led after you…and that neither memorial nor fame nor anything else is worth a thought.”
Impermanence, willed by Universal Nature according to Marcus, when acknowledged, should give rise to composure. In the face of the vicissitudes of time and fortune, which play out over a seemingly endless continuum of history, equanimity is the only sane response.
At the pinnacle of power and ruling during the golden age of empire, both emperor and philosopher, Marcus Aurelius points out that no amount of ambition and success can free you from what inevitably must take place: “dissolution.” Not just of your body, but of “all that your eyes behold…and those who saw it passing will themselves also pass away very quickly.” The inescapability of change and the indifference of chance considered soberly should help us assign little to no value to what typically preoccupies the mind, agitating the emotions.
Developing yourself into a leader requires a good amount of faith in your capacity to change; to become both more clear-sighted and self-controlled. Coming to terms psychologically with the variability of the world, and the inconstancy of your own life, is a great strength that allows you to ascribe to people, things, and situations a more accurate measurement of value. In doing so, you gain a clearer picture of the world, and a better use of time and energy.
While reading through the Meditations, written nearly two-thousand years ago, take the emperor’s advice; ponder the continuous waves of change that have swept through the world, through Europe, the Americas, and Asia—configuring, only to reconfigure, the planet. Think about your own life, the people you know, and your hometown, how you and they have changed and are changing, that for better or worse, this moment, too, will quickly pass.
“All things are in change, and you yourself in continuous alteration.“
