https://unearnedwisdom.com/the-roman-stoics-meditations/
Why is Stoicism suddenly mainstream? I wouldn’t have imagined that in 2018, ancient philosophies would become more relevant. I decided to put some books on Stoicism on my reading list. to see what the hype was about. Meditation is the first book that introduced me to Stoicism.
(Stoicism translates to Stoa or “porch”, which is where the founder – Zeno – taught and lectured in downtown Athens.)
There are some criticisms of Stoicism. One is that “it’s a philosophy for a post-democratic time. That’s not the world we live in today. We have democracy. We have freedom. We don’t need a philosophy that teaches us to resist pain or suffering.”
I think we do. We need it now more than ever. We need a practical philosophy to help us curtail our greedy desires and provoke us to rethink our values and the way we spend our time
It’s easy to assume – with all the technology we have access to – that we have it all figured out. That our priorities are in order and that we’re focused on the right things. Nothing can be further from the truth. Our world leaders provoke – and partake in – pedantic bickering with their own citizens around topics that don’t matter.
People are entirely focused on the outside. On outrage and disgust and anger. It’s overwhelming. Reading the back and forth that goes on between people on Twitter or Facebook always makes me wonder where we’ve gone astray.
Meditations Summary (8/10) 1
Few people I know can be described as straight shooters, principled, and resolute in their convictions. The no non-sense Clint Eastwood archetype isn’t being sought after today. I learned of a fabled time when people valued character building. I didn’t live in such a time and don’t think ever will.
Today, everyone seems to be attracted to drama, flash, charisma, novelty, and style. What people enjoy talking about is mind-numbing. Political squabbles, which Kardashian got married, what CNN decided to label as “breaking news” on any given day, and who really is the greatest ever in every single sport. (Who’s the greatest ever? You’ll never know, and you can’t possibly know because there’s no way of making a fair comparison. But everyone wants to spend 20% of their lives trying anyway)
On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with any of that. On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with anything. But when the vast majority of people spend the little idle time they have worrying about useless details about things that make no difference to their lives or the lives of others (positively), you have to think something is wrong.
But maybe it’s always been this way. Since the first man accused the first woman of ruining his life, there have been “the masses” and the few that did something valuable with their time. I always felt somewhere in between. But the older I get the more repulsed I feel by the former category. The more isolated I am from those around me, indeed, from those everywhere. Which is why reading “Meditations” was like reading something you have forgotten, have chosen to ignore, but are grateful to be reminded of once again.
I keep a journal and I remind myself every day of the things I need to watch for in myself. I take my self-awareness very seriously. I remind myself of the things I believe in. Why they’re most important. When you journal, you’re 100 percent honest. You have no reservations, you’re free, in a way that very few people are in real life. That’s what I really enjoyed about Meditations. This wasn’t someone trying to push an ideological system or sell anything to me. It was just one man’s thoughts about life – his life – and it was impossible to read it without somehow hanging on every word and taking note. The fact that Aurelius himself would be horrified if he ever found out that his scribbles would become known as one of the great books of our time made the experience strangely honest and intimate.
Philosophy was central to the Roman way of life, and in ancient times, it wasn’t reserved to select few professors in Academia. Philosophy was how people lived their lives. Religion, for them, was ritualistic, and not a moral guide. It didn’t need to be. Studying philosophical schools such as stoicism gave them insight into what’s meaningful, what should be pursued, how to deal with death and mortality, and how to treat their neighbors.
Marcus Aurelius was a well-educated Roman emperor who ruled from 161-180 AD. He was tutored by several philosophers and spent a considerable amount of time honing his rhetorical skills before diving deep into philosophy. Ancient Romans and Marcus Aurelius himself were heavily influenced by Stoicism. He recorded his thoughts in a book. That book is called “Meditations”. It wasn’t really a diary. He wasn’t talking about what he did on any particular day or of encounters he’d have with people. It’s more of a philosophical memoir. More precisely, it was his way of meditating. The book contains pearls of wisdom scattered -surprisingly frequently – in between random sentences that translate to obsessive, repetitive mantras.
It felt like Aurelius was in possession of certain truths that he firmly held and kept reminding himself of them. He did so with frustration, self-degradation, and anger. It’s hard for people in this age to not think of his ideas as being too extreme. But what I found amazing was how little life felt back then to how it does now. The brief but rich sentences he used to express his thoughts on these topics were surprisingly insightful.
I read that Aurelius was the quintessential Stoic. I don’t know enough about Stoicism to verify that statement, but I’ll keep it in mind as I move forward in this journey.