Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.3

Judge every word and deed that are according to Nature to be fit for you; and do not be diverted by the blame which follows from any people, nor by their words, but if a thing is good to be done or said, do not consider it unworthy of you.

For those persons have their peculiar leading principle and follow their peculiar movement. Do not regard these things, but go straight on, following your own nature and the common Nature; and the way of both is one.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 5 (tr Long)

What will people think, and what will people say? It is one of those odd habits of human behavior to take the very thing that defines us, our own thinking and action, and then immediately allow that to be ruled by the thinking and actions of others.

It is something like reducing life to a game of Simon Says, or like a reflection of the never-ending cycle of new fashions in clothing, music, or politics. Look around at everyone else, and follow suit.

The Stoic will never tell you not to listen to others, or not to seek wisdom and guidance, or not to look to a good example, but he will insist that you do your own thinking and choosing for yourself. We are all tasked with finding our own place and playing our own part in the order of Nature, not to find another’s place or play another’s part.

If I can, with a conscience that is both humble and confident, know what must be done to live well, then that is what I should do. I should not be looking at what happens to be popular, what will bring me anything external, and what will simply improve my circumstances.

Am I seeking virtue above all else? That will do. Starting with a sincere effort to practice the Cardinal Virtues, in the most ordinary and everyday of situations, is as good a place as any. That is what will improve my nature, and therefore be in harmony with Nature as a whole.

We often struggle with what we think is a false opposition between ourselves and other things. We assume there must be the presence of conflict, that my way and your way will necessarily disagree, or that cooperation or compromise is settling for second best.

But this does not need to be so. I can rest assured that if I do what is right for myself, living simply as a human being, then I will never need to do any harm to anyone or anything else.

My own true benefit is always within the benefit of my neighbor, because he is a social animal like myself. My own true benefit is always within the benefit of the entire Universe, because I am a small but integral part of it. They are always one and the same, even when I refuse to see it. Their ways will always converge, even when it is not immediately apparent.

People may pursue values and goals we discern as contrary to Nature, but even such a use of choice by others, however it may frustrate or sadden us, also serves Nature. If nothing else, I may use it to commit myself to what is good all the more.

Providence has a wonderful way of making right from wrong, of turning obstacles into opportunities.

Written in 3/2006

Image: Paul Signac, In the Time of Harmony (c. 1895)