4.7. Choose not to be harmed—-and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed—and you haven't been. One of the core tenants of stoicism is that outside events don’t cause you to act a certain way, it’s merely your interpretation of it. Viktor Frankl, author of man’s search for meaning, lived in a Nazi concentration camp, one of the hardest things any of us could imagine. Yet he talks about how the nazis could strip their dignity their sense of self worth, but they couldn’t strip their ability to perceive. So even in an concentrationcamp victor decided to perceive things differently to survive, even in one of the hardest situations a person could face, a situation where having a woe is me attitude would be justified viktor chose to perceive he situation in a way nothing outside of him including a Nazi officer could control. How often do you let a person cutting you off in traffic get you angry, how often do you lash out at the tv when a politician does or says something you don’t like? You choose your perception and response in any moment, choose better perceptions, live a better life.

3.16. Body. Soul. Mind. Sensations: the body. Desires: the soul. Reasoning: the mind. To experience sensations: even grazing beasts do that. To let your desires control you: even wild animals do that—and rutting humans, and tyrants (from Phalaris to Nero...). To make your mind your guide to what seems best: even people who deny the gods do that. Even people who betray their country. Even people who do <..> behind closed doors. If all the rest is common coin, then what is unique to the good man? To welcome with affection what is sent by fate. Not to stain or disturb the spirit within him with a mess of false beliefs. Instead, to preserve it faithfully, by calmly obeying God-saying nothing untrue, doing nothing unjust. And if the others don't acknowledge it—this life lived with simplicity, humility, cheerfulness-he doesn't resent them for it, and isn't deterred from following the road where it leads: to the end of life. An end to be approached in purity, in seren-ity, in acceptance, in peaceful unity with what must be. It’s clear that Marcus was a spiritual man. He talks of god often and of the soul often. In this passage in many ways Marcus is saying the one thing that makes us human, and a good human for that matter is recognizing our soul and living in accordance with it. How? By being faithful to god, by not saying anything untrue, and doing nothing unjust. A good life is one lived simply, with humility, and cheerfulness. It’s funny how regardless of religion of philosophy it seems the universal truth of how to the live the good life is all the same. Simply, cheerfully, with humility.

3.11. To the stand-bys above, add this one: always to define whatever it is we perceive—to trace its outline—so we can see what it really is:What is it—this thing that now forces itself on my notice? What is it made up of? How long was it designed to last? And what qualities do I need to bring to bear on it—tranquillity, courage, honesty, trustworthiness, straightforwardness, independence or what? So in each case you need to say: "This is due to God." Or: "This is due to the interweavings and intertwinings of fate, to coincidence or chance." Or: "This is due to a human being. Someone of the same race, the same birth, the same society, but who doesn't know what nature requires of him. But I do. And so I'll treat them as the law that binds us—the law of nature-requires. With kindness and with justice. And in inconsequential things? I'll do my best to treat them as they deserve." Many of Marcus’s passages are about getting to root of any thought, judgement or action. Piercing through the normal human perception and actually asking and analyzing what is this thing really? Marcus states that if this thing happened by chance or by something out of your control we can simply say it’s due to god. If it is caused by a human and it is a harmful act well then I should forgive them and treat them with kindness. And finally if it is inconsequential I’ll treat them as such. But how many of us do this really? Most of us focus so heavily on things only god controls, then we berate our fellow man for not acting in accordance with our view of the world and finally we focus on all the small things and never on the big things until it’s to late. As Marcus says, strip it all bare, look at it for what it truly is. Reprioritize your focus accordingly and watch yourself start to tangibly live a better life.

1.3. MY MOTHER Her reverence for the divine, her generosity, her inability not only to do wrong but even to conceive of doing it. And the simple way she lived-not in the least like the rich. This insert in meditations comes from what’s known as the “influences” section. On this Mother’s Day I think we can take inspiration from Marcus and the way he talks about his mother. For most of us in Mother’s Day we get flowers and say thanks mom we love you, but how many of us really look at what makes our mothers unique and special and then verbalize that to them? If you are lucky to still have a mother and/or have a good relationship with her be like Marcus don’t just be surface level with her. Really look at what makes her beautiful, what makes her special, what do you revere in her and how has it inspired you. A happy Mother’s Day from one of the best Emperors of Rome.