Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.16

Not in passivity but in activity lie the evil and the good of the rational social animal, just as his virtue and his vice lie not in passivity but in activity.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9.16 (tr Long)

I am a creature made not only to act, but also to act from my own awareness and choice. I am given not only life, but also a life of reason and will. How strange that I still so often choose to define myself by the things that happen to me, not by the things that I do.

I am too accustomed to thinking that a good life is measured by the environment I live in, whether it be how much money I might have, or the home I live in, or those who treat me as a friend.

As a result, I will sit back comfortably when I gain such things, but I will become anxious and despondent when I lose them. So instead of leading myself, I am letting myself be led, dependent upon what is quite often beyond my ability to control.

There is no shame at all in wanting such things and in enjoying their presence. The danger, however, lies in confusing a preference with a necessity, and in mistaking my circumstances for my character. There are many things that will passively come and go in this life, within my choice to like or dislike, though they should always be quite subservient to the virtue I practice actively.

I may still be convinced, however, that the conveniences and luxuries I have, or that I think I should have, are things that I have earned, or things that I deserve; after all, they seem to be the consequence of my own work and effort, the fruits of my labors. Notice how often people are so proud of their honors and possessions, assuming that these prizes on the outside reflect an excellence on the inside.

Yet this isn’t nearly so much the case as I would like to think. Whatever I may have done, for better or for worse, follows from my own actions, while whatever others may choose to give to me, for better or for worse, follows from their actions. The prestige of the degree from a fancy school? The bountiful earnings from a lucrative career? The pleasures of being honored and respected by all the right people? Some of it is just the result of good fortune, and most of the rest is just the result of someone else’s judgment.

If I am still in doubt that these benefits are not completely my own, let me only recognize how easily they can be taken away. What seems so securely within my power is hardly mine at all.

What is still completely mine, whatever the world offers me, is the dignity of my own thoughts and deeds. I need only master myself, and let the rest be what it may, focusing sharply on the merit of how I act, regardless of how I am acted upon.

The measure of a man is what he gives, not what he receives. It is a genuine responsibility for himself.

Written in 10/2008