How Stoicism Endures in a Tumultuous World

When Marcus Aurelius wrote what would eventually become Meditations, he was journaling with the intention of steadying his mind. We know why he was driven to write: he wanted to make sense of the pressures of loss, leadership, and daily irritation. The fact that his words still ring true today is a testament to the shared nature of humanity and our universal struggles. And the fact that his private notes became one of the most widely read philosophical texts in history says something about how universal his struggles were.

Bust of a young Marcus Aurelius

Book I of Meditations is essentially a tribute to those who have helped him throughout his life. His grandfather had taught him character. His mother had taught him simplicity. Although his father had passed away before he was born, Marcus' father's reputation had taught Marcus integrity. Marcus then lists a series of tutors and mentors who each contributed to a quality that Marcus had developed through them. It is worth stopping here. The most powerful person in the world begins his most personal writings by documenting the contributions made by others. This indicates a very important aspect of Stoicism as a practice. Stoicism begins with an awareness of the realization that your character is not only yours. Others provide the foundation for it. Book II marks a shift in tone. The beginning is forceful: "When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly."

Here, the "you" refers to Marcus himself, as this is a journal entry, however it feels as though the reader is being addressed directly. The action he takes is counterintuitive. He doesn't instruct us to ignore these individuals. He tells us to anticipate them. To understand what is to come. To act on principle, regardless of what occurs. This is where Stoicism is misunderstood most frequently. It is generally viewed as a form of emotional repression. Like a philosophy of gritting your teeth and feeling nothing. Marcus acts in a way that is contrary to this notion. He acknowledges the difficulty of interacting with other people, however he provides options as to how to react. The feelings are certainly present. He isn't really "stoic" in the emotionless sense. The irritation is there. The difference here is substantial. As practiced by Marcus, Stoicism is a continuous process of refinement. You recognize your reactions, assessing if those reactions assist you and making adjustments along the way. It is more akin to maintaining than it is to detaching. The journal itself is the evidence. Marcus wrote these journals because he needed help. He was not inherently stable. He needed to work at it in solitude in his journal. "Do not waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people — unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book III, Entry 4

The word "here" can easily be overlooked. Marcus reminds himself that "here" is finite. The time he invests into considering the opinions of others is time subtracted from something important. That is the argument of Stoicism in this case. Attention is a limited resource, and most of what competes for it is simply not worth the time.