Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.22

I do my duty. Other things trouble me not.

For they are either things without life, or things without reason, or things that have rambled and know not the way.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 6 (tr Long)

When it comes to understanding and respecting the world, my span of attention must be broad. But when it comes to what I should worry myself about, and what I should seek to control, my span of attention must be quite narrow.

I am called to seek the good for all things, because I am a part within the whole. The way for me to serve the whole is to rule myself first and foremost, directing my concern at what is rightly within my power, my own thoughts and deeds.

I do not need to be anxious and frustrated with what is beyond my scope of responsibility. It is not for me to decide, and I can rightly trust that Providence will ultimately have it be as it should. Inanimate things proceed by their own set laws, directed by their own specific natures. Animate things proceed by their instincts, directed by their own specific natures. Rational creatures, however, proceed by their own judgments. It is my own estimation of things that allows me to rule myself.

This, in turn, will form how I choose to perceive the benefit and harm in other things around me. Does my neighbor choose evil? I can assist him back to the path of wisdom, but I cannot, and should hardly attempt, to do it for him. Only he can decide to do that.

I will often fuss and fret over many things that were never made for me to determine. Let them be as they must, but let me be certain to adapt myself rightly. If I am impatient with the world, I will find my life going very poorly. It is only my own weakness for which I should offer no quarter.

Peace and contentment do not come from ordering the world to my ease or preference. They come from ordering myself to the world. What a profound relief it is whenever I understand this.

I must remember that this is in no way a matter of selfishness, defeatism, or thoughtlessness. I am called to focus on my own distinct part to perform. To do anything else would be like a violinist in an orchestra also trying to play the trumpet parts, or a doctor telling an accountant how to do his job. What is, in fact, most deeply selfish is to insist on the power of my choices where it does not belong. Again, as Plato says, true justice is minding your own business.

A fine priest I once knew told me that my sense of duty would never ask me to play God, only to be His servant. A dear friend once told me that it’s always my job to love others, but never my job to make others love me. These are helpful ways to limit my worry, by directing my attention on what is my own.

Written in 2/2007