Among the animals that have not reason one life is
distributed; but among reasonable animals one intelligent soul is distributed.
Just as there is one
earth of all things that are of an earthly nature, so we see by one light, and
breathe one air, all of us that have the faculty of vision and all that have
life.
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9.8 (tr
Long)
An academic I
once met argued that a great weakness of the Meditations is how Marcus Aurelius constantly repeats himself. Now
we all have our preferences on writing that speaks to us, and I find rather that
the way the Meditations will circle
back to a set of common themes is of great assistance to me.
I can’t speak
for what Marcus Aurelius intended, but for me it has always come across as a
work immediately grounded in daily practice, not just an expression of abstract
theory. I approach each passage as an observation and insight about a specific
aspect of living, offering specific tools to face the obstacles that come my
way.
Consequently,
similar themes will return over and over whenever certain problems arise over
and over. The repetition actually helps to ground my habits, reminds me of what
I have forgotten, and strengthens my resolve on each new day.
Am I distressed?
I recall that no circumstance can truly harm me. Am I tempted by wealth, or
fame, or glory? I recall that it is all a passing vanity. Do I fear death? I
recall that change and transformation are at the heart of Nature. Am I angry
with my neighbor? I recall that we are made to be together, not to be
separated.
Stoicism always
insists on stressing unity over division, the way things are joined instead of fractured,
and I do need to hear this again and again when I feel isolated from the world
around me. As the very word should suggest, the Universe is one, in that all
things that exist share in the same being. Stoic physics often expresses
various forms of monism and pantheism, which I can apply in practice to
understand that nothing ever is
outside of everything that is.
All beings
share and participate in one being. Call something an aspect, a part, an
emanation, or an effect, but it is still within the whole. This is then true
down the line for all kinds of creatures. All material objects share and
participate in one matter. All living things share and participate in one life.
All minds share and participate in one mind.
When I am
thinking, I am not thinking on my own. My reason proceeds from Universal
Reason, and it works together with all other reason. Just as all of us are
living on the same earth, and breathing the same air, and seeing by the same
light, we are all understanding together.
This may sound
quite abstract and mysterious, but it doesn’t need to be. It means I am not
alone, whatever may happen, or however I may feel. I believe this is something
that warrants being repeated.
Written in 8/2008
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