Meditations is the work of Roman Philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, which was written in his later years and never meant for publication.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

• When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.

• Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

• Accustom yourself to attend carefully to what is said by another, and as much as it is possible, be in the speakers mind.

• How quickly all things disappear,—in the universe, the bodies themselves, but in time the remembrance of them.

• Give yourself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around. But then you must also avoid being carried about the other way; for those too are triflers who have wearied themselves in life by their activity.

• Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too.

• The soul of man does violence to itself when it is overpowered by pleasure or pain.

• Let no act be done without a purpose.

• Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.

• It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

• How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself. Look not around at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from it.

• Occupy yourself with few things if you wish to be tranquil. For this brings not only the tranquility which comes from doing well but also that which comes from doing few things.

• Accordingly, on every occasion a man should ask himself, is this one of the unnecessary things? Now a man should take away not only unnecessary acts, but also unnecessary thoughts, for the superfluous acts will not follow after.

• Pain is either an evil to the body or to the soul; but it is in the power of the soul to maintain its own serenity and tranquility.

• Whatever any one does or says, I must be good; just as if gold, or the emerald were always saying this. Whatever any one does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color.

• Willingly give yourself up to the ones of fate, allowing her to spin the thread into whatever thing she pleases.

• Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom yourself to consider that the nature of the universe loves nothing so much as to change things which are and to make new things like them.

• The best revenge is to not be like your enemy.

• You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can’t control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.

• If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly change; for I seek the truth, by which no man was ever injured. But he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance.

• I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.

• Through not observing what is in the mind of another, a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy.

• No longer talk about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such.

• If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.

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