{"id":647,"date":"2008-08-08T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2008-08-08T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/marcus-aurelius\/"},"modified":"2013-10-09T09:58:09","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T17:58:09","slug":"marcus-aurelius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/marcus-aurelius\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Aurelius’ Six Timeless Observations on Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 180. A great thinker, Marcus embodied Plato\u2019s ideal of the philosopher king to a considerable extent. He was a strong emperor, engaging in various wars in defense of the Roman empire for his entire reign, but he was also greatly concerned with social justice and welfare, even going so far as to sell his own possessions to alleviate people\u2019s suffering from famine and plague (from which he died).<\/p>\n

Marcus left behind a corpus of writing which, despite it\u2019s antiquity, offers us some truly timeless wisdom. Here are six lessons we can learn from his observations on life.<\/p>\n

Lesson #1: We Are Responsible for Our Own Experience of Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Such as are your habitual thoughts; such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the color of your thoughts.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much has been made recently of the (so called) \u2018law of attraction.\u2019 Before \u2018The Secret,\u2019 a wealth of writers had tapped into the idea that what happens in our mind is the most important thing in shaping our experience of life. From Norman Vincent Peal\u2019s \u2018Amazing Power of Positive Thinking,\u2019 and Joseph Murphy\u2019s \u2018Power of the Subconscious Mind\u2019 to<\/p>\n

Wallace Wattles \u2018Science of Getting Rich,\u2019 all were taking about a truth which Marcus understood so may centuries ago.<\/p>\n

Viktor Frankl said that between what happens to us and our response to it, there is a gap, and in that gap lies our whole experience of life. Steven Covey, in his \u2018Seven Habits\u2019 called our ability to widen this gap \u2018being proactive.\u2019 It is the first habit of a highly effective person to cultivate an awareness that s\/he is in control. To coin a phrase, life is what you make it.
\n
\nLesson #2: Everything Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I keep a sign posted over my desk at work. It reads \u2018this too will pass.\u2019 It is a reminder to me that, whatever I am experiencing in life, it will disappear and be replaced with something else. Only one thing is certain \u2013 everything changes. People who know this and tap into the natural course of change can be very successful. Let\u2019s take one area as an example \u2013 the stock market. People who bought stock after the dot com crash, knowing that the market would rebound after such a dramatic fall, reaped enormous rewards. Those who sold when prices had become stupidly inflated and wildly disconnected from earnings, knowing that the market couldn\u2019t keep on rising forever, also did well.<\/p>\n

Clinging on to the way things were can be a source of great misery. The past is gone and it\u2019s never coming back; the present is already changing. So why complain that things used to be better? There are opportunities if only we can see that change is coming.<\/p>\n

Lesson #3: Live a Real Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I recently picked up a copy of Felix Dennis\u2019 book \u2018How to Get Rich\u2019 while waiting for a flight recently. It\u2019s a great read \u2013 unlikely to make you rich I suspect, but full of wonderful observations. In the first chapter, Dennis (who is \u2018one of the richest self-made men in Britain, according to the back sleeve of the book) tells us that one of the main obstacles to being rich is comfort \u2013 a regular paycheck, a pension, a nice title, stock options. In other words, people don\u2019t want to risk losing what they have. In other words, they are afraid. They are not living the life they want because they are scared they might lose more than they gain.<\/p>\n

In the British comedy \u2018The Office,\u2019 Tim is set to leave his dead end job and go to university when he is given a small promotion. This persuades his to stay at work because although, as he puts it, he has \u2018rolled a three and could very well roll a six,\u2019 going to university might not work out \u2013 he might end up \u2018rolling a one.\u2019<\/p>\n

Taking risks is no easy thing, but when we come to the end of it all, shall we regret that we stayed too much in our comfort zone?<\/p>\n

Lesson #4: Be Grateful<\/strong><\/p>\n

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Marcus clearly understood that gratitude is an important commodity to possess. We take so many things for granted, and only when we lose them do we stop to think just how important they were to us. If you cannot sleep because you have stomach ache or you have injured yourself, you will quickly become grateful for a good night\u2019s sleep!<\/p>\n

Every day is a gift, and there are so many, many things to be happy about. We all have problems and we all suffer lack and privation, but why not focus on the good things we have? If you can read this, then you have had an education and you are probably rich enough to own a computer and pay for an Internet connection. Make a list of things you can be grateful for \u2013 you might be amazed at how long it is!<\/p>\n

Lesson #5: Be Detached<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Felix Dennis, in his book \u2018How to Get Rich,\u2019 speaks plainly about the real meaning of wealth. It is nothing, he says. It isn\u2019t real. Getting rich, he writes, is just a game. If we take the pursuit of wealth (or anything else, for that matter) too seriously, we are likely to fail. In the Bhagavad-Gita<\/em>, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, \u2018Plunge into the heat of battle, and keep your heart at the lotus feet of the Lord.\u2019 He is saying, I think, that the battle of life is a game \u2013 we must play it with all our heart, but we must not be attached to the outcome. In this detached state, we can be ready and open to receive wealth or success. We can pursue these things with energy and passion, but if we cling to them, or pursue them as something of importance, they are likely to elude us.<\/p>\n

Lao Tze, who lived seven hundred years before Marcus Aurelius, wrote<\/p>\n

“Those who take hold of the world and act on it
\nNever, I notice, succeed.<\/em>
\n The world is a mysterious instrument,
\nNot made to be handled.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It seems that Marcus understood this paradox.<\/p>\n

Lesson #6: All Is Well<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Everything is unfolding as it must, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1373, Julian of Norwich was suffering from a severe illness. Believing she was near death, she had a series of visions. In one of them, Jesus appeared to her and said, \u2018All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.\u2019<\/p>\n

The idea that things are unfolding as they should is a common theme in the mystical traditions of the world. Anthony de Mello, in his wonderful book \u2018Awareness,\u2019 writes \u2018When you awaken, when you understand, when you see, the world becomes right\u2026You\u2019ll never explain it\u2026 Life is a mystery, which means your thinking mind cannot make sense out of it.\u2019<\/p>\n

The world looks like a big mess to me, but if we take Marcus\u2019 advice, sit quietly, abandon our opinions, and simply observe, then perhaps we shall indeed see that \u2018all is well.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Michael Miles runs EffortlessAbundance.com. You can download his new book \u2018Thirty Days to Change Your Life, by visiting <\/em>http:\/\/effortlessabundance.com\/newsletter\/<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 180. A great thinker, Marcus embodied Plato\u2019s ideal of the philosopher king to a considerable extent. He was a strong emperor, engaging in various wars in defense of the Roman empire for his entire reign, but he was also greatly concerned with social justice and welfare, even going so far as to sell his own possessions to alleviate people\u2019s suffering from famine and plague (from which he died). 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