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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Obviously it is what it is, very disjointed, very meandering and doesn't really tackle anything. Very interesting but all the issues and thoughts brought up have been delved into in much more depth by authors since this was written so obviously those books will have much more of a reason for being as such.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
“Man’s life is only a moment, and after a short time we are all laid out dead.”
this guy mentions a lot of crazy shit he probably wouldn’t have put into the book if he knew it would be public lol
Remarkable how grounded a man at the apex of society in his day was. Perhaps it was a result of necessity, but either way his notes are timeless works that apply even more today as we're inundated with information, emails, etc.
I was led here by Ryan Holiday's work, and this has become a series of guiding principles by which I operate.
I was led here by Ryan Holiday's work, and this has become a series of guiding principles by which I operate.
reflective
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
This book is so repetitive I feel sorry to all the other books I’ve called repetitive until now. Apparently Marcus Aurelius liked to spend his time rephrasing the same three to four concepts over and over. I don’t know what else I was expecting, but he was actually meditating on his core beliefs.
With this being said, I still do not regret reading this. It was helpful in a way, soothing even.
Some quotes I’d like to look back on:
“None of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness.“
“How many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them.“
“There is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.“
“If it’s time for you to go, leave willingly—as you would to accomplish anything that can be done with grace and honor.“
“Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.“
“Constant awareness that everything is born from change. The knowledge that there is nothing nature loves more than to alter what exists.”
“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?
—But it’s nicer here. . . .
So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?
—But we have to sleep sometime. . . .
Agreed. But nature set a limit on that—as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota.“
“Things have no hold on the soul. They have no access to it, cannot move or direct it. It is moved and directed by itself alone. It takes the things before it and interprets them as it sees fit.“
“To move from one unselfish action to another with God in mind. Only there, delight and stillness.“
“Like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. A dead bird. A dead pig. (…) „Perceptions like that—latching onto things and piercing through them, so we see what they really are. That’s what we need to do all the time (…) to lay them bare and see how pointless they are, to strip away the legend that encrusts them. Pride is a master of deception: when you think you’re occupied in the weightiest business, that’s when he has you in his spell.“
“It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.“
“They kill you, cut you with knives, shower you with curses. And that somehow cuts your mind off from clearness, and sanity, and self-control, and justice?
A man standing by a spring of clear, sweet water and cursing it. While the fresh water keeps on bubbling up. He can shovel mud into it, or dung, and the stream will carry it away, wash itself clean, remain unstained.
To have that. Not a cistern but a perpetual spring.
How? By working to win your freedom.”
“Is it a sign of self-respect to regret nearly everything you do?”
“To do harm is to do yourself harm. To do an injustice is to do yourself an injustice—it degrades you.”
“And you can also commit injustice by doing nothing.“
“So when you call someone “untrustworthy” or “ungrateful,” turn the reproach on yourself. It was you who did wrong. By assuming that someone with those traits deserved your trust. Or by doing them a favor and expecting something in return, instead of looking to the action itself for your reward. What else did you expect from helping someone out?“
“Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?“
“Have I done something for the common good? Then I share in the benefits. To stay centered on that. Not to give up.“
„Someone hates me. Their problem. Mine: to be patient and cheerful with everyone, including them.“
“False friendship is the worst. Avoid it at all costs. If you’re honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.“
With this being said, I still do not regret reading this. It was helpful in a way, soothing even.
Some quotes I’d like to look back on:
“None of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness.“
“How many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them.“
“There is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.“
“If it’s time for you to go, leave willingly—as you would to accomplish anything that can be done with grace and honor.“
“Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.“
“Constant awareness that everything is born from change. The knowledge that there is nothing nature loves more than to alter what exists.”
“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?
—But it’s nicer here. . . .
So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?
—But we have to sleep sometime. . . .
Agreed. But nature set a limit on that—as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota.“
“Things have no hold on the soul. They have no access to it, cannot move or direct it. It is moved and directed by itself alone. It takes the things before it and interprets them as it sees fit.“
“To move from one unselfish action to another with God in mind. Only there, delight and stillness.“
“Like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. A dead bird. A dead pig. (…) „Perceptions like that—latching onto things and piercing through them, so we see what they really are. That’s what we need to do all the time (…) to lay them bare and see how pointless they are, to strip away the legend that encrusts them. Pride is a master of deception: when you think you’re occupied in the weightiest business, that’s when he has you in his spell.“
“It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.“
“They kill you, cut you with knives, shower you with curses. And that somehow cuts your mind off from clearness, and sanity, and self-control, and justice?
A man standing by a spring of clear, sweet water and cursing it. While the fresh water keeps on bubbling up. He can shovel mud into it, or dung, and the stream will carry it away, wash itself clean, remain unstained.
To have that. Not a cistern but a perpetual spring.
How? By working to win your freedom.”
“Is it a sign of self-respect to regret nearly everything you do?”
“To do harm is to do yourself harm. To do an injustice is to do yourself an injustice—it degrades you.”
“And you can also commit injustice by doing nothing.“
“So when you call someone “untrustworthy” or “ungrateful,” turn the reproach on yourself. It was you who did wrong. By assuming that someone with those traits deserved your trust. Or by doing them a favor and expecting something in return, instead of looking to the action itself for your reward. What else did you expect from helping someone out?“
“Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?“
“Have I done something for the common good? Then I share in the benefits. To stay centered on that. Not to give up.“
„Someone hates me. Their problem. Mine: to be patient and cheerful with everyone, including them.“
“False friendship is the worst. Avoid it at all costs. If you’re honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.“
informative
reflective