My Top 5 Takeaways from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Published: Feb. 11, 2019, 2 p.m.

The featured book this time around is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

And I know, this recommendation is pretty \u201cbasic\u201d of me as stoicism is all the rage these days, but I\u2019m going to make it anyway because I really do believe everyone can benefit from this book and stoic philosophy.

I feel that\u2019s especially true in today\u2019s zeitgeist, which is moving further and further away from individualism, resilience, and responsibility and toward fear, fragility, and egoism. In fact, many young people in particular are upping the stakes by downright scorning many traditionally admired attitudes and behaviors and blindly celebrating their opposites.

And I fear the consequences of this cultural experiment, which are already unfolding in a number of aways, are going to be severe. In short, I\u2019d bet a lot of shekels that here in the West at least, the scene is going to get a lot worse before it starts getting better.

But hey, hopefully I\u2019m wrong.

Anyway, back to the book\u2014in case you\u2019re not familiar with him, Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor who earned the reputation of \u201cphilosopher king\u201d during his lifetime and has since been recognized as one of history\u2019s greatest rulers in both character and deed.

Meditations, originally titled To Myself, contains Aurelius\u2019 reflections on virtue, desire, rationality, emotions, the nature of the gods, and more.

While many of his insights resonated with me, the messages that hit home the most were his views on how to dispassionately and effectively deal with the difficulties of life, the importance of avoiding hate and the intention to harm, and the value of living honestly and with purpose.

A bit of humble self-reflection is good for the soul, and Meditations will take you on a brief, but meaningful (and maybe even cathartic), introspection.

Let\u2019s get to the takeaways.

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