Why I Wish I Had Read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations When I Was a Teenager

I read Marcus Aurelius's Meditations when I was 52, and even 18 months later, the underlying Stoic Philosophy still impacts me at times. It helps me concentrate on only those things that I can control.

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor who is believed to have written Meditations between 161 and 180 AD. Meditations is his journal, a collection of his thoughts, and a reminder to himself of the way he wants to live. It reminds us that while technology changes and evolves, the core of being human remains the same.

Through our technology of reading I have access to the thoughts and wisdom of a Roman Emperor who died some 1900 years ago. That in itself blows my mind. I doubt anyone will be reading my content in 1900 years' time when I’m nothing but dust.

Stoic Philosophy

Stoic Philosophy believes that everything is determined and that the only thing you have control over is your own mind and how you respond to the challenges life throws at you. Your one responsibility in life is to try your best and do the best you can with the cards life deals you.

At the heart of Stoicism is an acceptance that your life is finite and short, and it's your responsibility to live it as well as you can.

Marcus Aurelius refers back to these core Stoic ideas over and over again. And it's written in such a beautiful but blunt way. This is one of my favourite quotes: “In short, know this: Human lives are brief and trivial. Yesterday a blob of semen; tomorrow embalming fluid, ash.” Imagine reading that as a Teenager worried about whether your peers like you or not. It might just help you realise that in the long term, it really doesn’t matter.

Embracing Humility and Purpose

“Yes, you can — if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centred, irritable”, Marcus Aurelius.

This is what I noted in my own notes. What I think Marcus Aurelius is trying to say is that you need to look at achieving the things that matter to you. In essence, you need to concentrate on your why. As I noted from one of my own thoughts. “Life is the ultimate sandbox”

A sandbox is a type of computer game in which the player determines the outcome. The same holds true for our most important game: life.

It makes you realise how important it is to determine what really matters to you and pursue those dreams when you are still alive and able to act. Once you're dead, it's gone. Imagine realising that when you were in your teens, not your fifties.

Conclusion

If you have never read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, read it now!! It might just change your life. And the younger you read it, the better.