BOOK SUMMARY 308 Meditations
·
Summary
written by: Jane Bushby
"Retire
into yourself. The rational governing centre is of such a nature that it finds
its contentment in its own just conduct and the serenity that it gains from
it."
-
Meditations, page 62
I read about this
book on someone’s blog and thought it would be interesting to read a book of
meditations for the final month of the year. I found reading this book to be a
different experience from reading other biographies. I believe this was because
it is a collection of private thoughts that Marcus Aurelius never planned to
have made public. I must admit I was also fascinated by the idea that many of
Aurelius’ thoughts and reflections remain consistent and as relevant today as
they were to him 2,000 years ago. Reading his reflections at a traditionally
reflective time of year highlighted, for me, the importance of taking time out
to reflect and consider what is important to us whilst also striving to be the
best we can be. From a professional perspective, it was enlightening to observe
that even a leader of the Roman Empire faced similar challenges to leaders today
in terms of being self-aware, knowing what is important to them and being able
to be authentic in all that they do.
The Golden Egg
Know and Honor Your
Own Moral Compass
"Your principles
have life in them. For how can they perish, unless the ideas that correspond to
them are extinguished? And it is up to you to be constantly fanning them into
new flame."- Meditations, page 58
The book opens with
Aurelius listing 17 individuals, each of whom represent something important to
him. He identifies who they are and the values and/or principles they
demonstrate that he holds dear, and seeks to emulate. I felt inspired by the
fact that a Roman Emperor was hoping to ‘walk the talk’ and remain curious
about what it is that means this is still something many of our leaders strive
to achieve today. He expands on these in Book 2 with some examples of how to
live these in practical terms:
·
There
is no point in getting upset with people—we are all human
·
Be
yourself and live without fear
·
Have
no regrets
·
Act
today and live in the now
·
Practice
mindfulness and flow
·
Don’t
allow your happiness to depend on others
·
Stay
on task and focus on your goals
·
Put
yourself first—this helps you take better care of others
·
Keep
the big picture in mind
·
Remember
perception is reality
·
Don’t
fight the universe
·
Everything
comes to pass
Gem #1
Seize the Day, and
Don’t Procrastinate
"Each of us
lives only in the present, this fleeting moment of time, and that the rest of
one’s life has either already been lived or lies in an unknowable
future."- Meditations, page 20
Quite a few of
Aurelius’ comments are focused on the fleeting aspect of time, and that it is
therefore necessary to do the important things now. He returns to this concept
to note that we should live each day as though it is our last. This should
include being authentic and present in the moment, an approach that it is not
easy and requires dedication, “Perfection of character requires this, that
you should live each day as though it you’re your last, and be neither
agitated, nor lethargic nor act a part” (page 69). For me these concepts
reflect the importance of now, in that we shouldn’t put off till tomorrow what
we can do today and that we need to be present and enjoy the current time and
place we are in. Albeit that this can sometimes be challenging, especially
given that what is important to me may not be important to others, and vice
versa.
Gem #2
The Importance of
Karma
"All that comes
about, comes about justly…Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to
live…while you have life in you, while you still can, make yourself
good."- Meditations, page 25-26
While Aurelius sees
it as important to know your own values and principles, he spends some time
considering what it is to be good and just. This was interesting for me as I
had thought this concept to be something many of the Roman Emperors didn’t
concern themselves with (Caligula comes to mind). I was also interested by his
reflecting the importance of choosing how we respond to apparent misfortune and
that it is in our own selves (‘ruling centres’) that determines how we respond
to events “Do away with the judgement and the notion ‘I have been harmed’ is
done away with; do away with that notion, and the harm itself has gone.” (page
25).
This is a book to
which I will constantly return, if only open it to a random page and see what
the questions and reflections are. There are many common themes that Aurelius
returns to, they are based on the 17 attributes of his mentors and role models
that he identifies at the start. This is a book that has inspired me to start
journaling again, and to see that even a sentence can start to provide us with
a picture of what is important to us over time. It is worth noting that these
are the gems I took away with me on this reading, however I remain in no doubt
that others might appear more important on reviewing the book in months and
years to come. In short, this is a must read for anyone interested in thinking
about and developing their own leadership style and their own moral compass,
for “the art of living is more like the wrestler’s art than the dancer’s in
this regard, that it must stand ready and firm to meet whatever happens to it,
even when unforeseen” (67).
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