Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 10.2

Observe what your nature requires, so far as you are governed by Nature only; then do it and accept it, if your nature, so far as you are a living being, shall not be made worse by it.

And next you must observe what your nature requires so far as you are a living being, and all this you may allow yourself, if your nature, so far as you are a rational animal, shall not be made worse by it.

But the rational animal is consequently also a political and social animal.

Use these rules, then, and trouble yourself about nothing else.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 10.2 (tr Long)

There are all these layers upon layers upon layers that masquerade as self-identity. Look at my job, or at my résumé, or at my bank account, or at my beautiful and successful wife, or at my bright and gifted children, or at my powerful and brilliant friends. Look at all the worldly achievements, and all the reflections of my influence, which I can then post on social media, and they will make me look even better than I already was before.

Peel it all away. It has nothing to do with me at all. It is all about the appearance of me, and the selfish gratification it gives me, making me believe that I am now suddenly a someone.

Strip it all away. What is left? A being who is no different than any other of the billions now walking this earth, a being who will die like all the billions who have died before me, and a being who will be no better or worse in the end because of all the glamor and glitter.

Go straight to the core of it. I am not the sum of my externals, but the sum of my own content. What do I actually have left?

Ask only one question: what makes me a human being? If I have no answer, I am already up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

I can offer no precise count, so this can hardly be what our wardens call “scientific”, but of the thousands of people I have come to know over these many years, maybe only a few hundred would even offer any sort of answer at all. I find it interesting that it was usually the most unassuming and unappreciated folks who could make a case for why they were here. The rest sank into platitudes, deeply worried that their illusions would somehow be shattered.

What does my nature demand? To understand who I am, and why I am here. I have many bodily gifts, but my mental gifts distinguish me as being distinctly human. Reason and will define my essence, and it isn’t just about having those powers, but about how I decide to employ them. This means I am ordered to respecting all truth in this world, and to practicing sincere love in this world.

What does my nature allow? To desire and pursue anything that virtue permits, but to turn away from anything that virtue prohibits. Perhaps I desire riches, or perhaps I desire poverty. Perhaps I want to be in company, or perhaps I want to be alone. Perhaps I choose to be a king, or perhaps I choose to be a carpenter. Let me prefer whatever I wish, but I must always demand that this be subservient to my task of being human.

What does my nature tell me about living with others? To remember that I am inseparable from the whole. Every man is my brother, and every woman is my sister, not necessarily by blood, but by purpose. Once I have sold out or abandoned any single one of my brothers or sisters, I have sold out my own humanity.

They pay big money to politicians for making certain sorts of laws, and more big money to lawyers for making nonsense of them, and even more big money to businessmen to reap a profit from them. None of this is necessary. The deeper laws of human nature are quite clear, simple, and beautiful. They are not imposed on us, being already within us. No one needs to make power and money from them, because power and money are not what we need.  A sense of truth and love is what we need.

Written in 1/2009