Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.24

Do not be whirled about, but in every movement have respect to justice, and on the occasion of every impression maintain the faculty of comprehension or understanding.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 4 (tr Long)

When I was still very young, our family would often spend time during the summer in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. I have fond memories of an old general store that sold all sorts of amazing things, as well as a place on the beach that had the best ice cream I ever tasted. My favorite by far, however, was an antique carousel, apparently the oldest in the country.

It was hardly one of those insane rides we are now used to from the big amusement parks, but I still recall being a bit frightened the first time I sat on one of those carved wooden horses. As I spun around, I felt anxious, and grabbed on tight. It was only when I realized I could keep my eye focused on a single unmoving spot that I could relax and enjoy the ride.

Life will often whirl us around, and we lose track of our position and direction. We become dizzy from all the motion, and one doesn’t have to be a child to be frightened by that. This passage, when I read it many years later, immediately made me think of the old carousel, and how I learned not to worry about being tossed in the air.

I am often guided by a strong sense of right and wrong, but this can quickly fade when I get befuddled and confused by my circumstances. I can often have a calm and keen mind, but my thinking can get all tangled up very suddenly if I am faced with something overwhelming.

The trick, however, with apologies to the great Douglas Adams, is not to panic. I can remember to firmly keep my attention on the things that matter the most in daily living, on always treating others with concern, decency and fairness, and on always using the gift of my mind to find meaning and purpose in the many bewildering appearances life will hurl at me.

It is easy to look at another person, and to see only opportunities for my own gratification. Instead, I can choose to focus on the fact that my neighbor is just like me, made with the same dignity and function as myself. He is not disposable, and he always deserves justice.

It is easy to face the broad range of my experience, and to act only on how something at first seems. Instead, I can choose to focus on the fact that impressions alone will often deceive me. Understanding requires moving beyond what something may look like to me, to knowing what something is in itself.

A careful and orderly grasp of reality will often show me that things are usually quite different, and often completely the opposite, of what I first perceived them to be. I do not need to view any man as my enemy, or wish him harm, and I do not need to let my circumstances rule over me, or decide the value of my life for me.

Written in 9/2005