Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.53

Where any work can be done conformably to the reason that is common to gods and men, there we have nothing to fear.

For where we are able to get profit by means of the activity that is successful and proceeds according to our constitution, there no harm is to be suspected.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 7 (tr Long)

We will often think of striving for happiness as if we were playing the odds. This is only true, however, if happiness is something beyond our power, or can be taken away from us, or depends on the conditions outside of us.

A few years back, I was puzzled by an article in a respected magazine that offered to tell me what my chances of being happy were, based on variables like where I lived, what my job was, whether or not I was married or had children, and how often I went on vacation. All sorts of fancy statistics were provided, and I seem to recall, at the time, that single people who worked in database administration, lived in Seattle, and liked to go skiing were most likely to be the “happiest” Americans.

Well no wonder happiness would seem like a crapshoot. It can’t be easy lining up all those blessings of circumstance. I thought I had once heard that dentists were the most content, but maybe they decided to change the rules of life a bit.

Now if happiness followed from what we received, we would most certainly rely upon whatever the world may decide to give us. We would be taking great risks, hoping that our own efforts would happen to correspond with external rewards. Happiness would hardly be guaranteed, and we would take nothing as certain.

Is it any surprise that we become so anxious? How ironic that we only want to be at peace, but our worry and frustration about life are always in opposition to such peace.

There is another road to take, and my own change in estimation can point the way. Instead of a happy life following from what is done to me, it can follow completely from what I do. My own thinking, and my own decisions, can be the measure I use to find contentment and tranquility. This may, after years of habits and assumptions, not come easy, but it is only my judgment that can stand as an obstacle. It will be so, if I so decide.

As long as I have a conscious choice, I remain the master of that choice. Where there is no longer any conscious choice, there is really nothing of “me” that remains. I will possess myself as long as there is a self. That is completely reliable, and completely certain.

There is no gamble. There is no need for fear, and no need for any suspicion of harm. 

Written in 12/2007