Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.7

How plain does it appear that there is not another condition of life so well suited for philosophizing as this in which you now happen to be.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 11.7 (tr Long)

We had a corny old family joke, back from the days of VHS tapes, whenever this message would pop up before a movie:

This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this screen.

At which point one of us had to ask, “How did they know how big our TV screen is?”

So it is with the circumstances of our lives. Sometimes we say we are deeply grateful for all of our blessings, and sometimes we cry out that we have been cursed, but in the end we are given exactly what we need, right when we need it.

This can only fill us with awe, whether it is due to the most wonderful serendipity or the most profound Providence. It is Nature at work, and more specifically the properties of human nature at work, precisely because it is within the power of reason to rule itself, through each and every condition. Each is so well suited, because they are all made to be so well suited.

What state of affairs do I currently find myself in? That is the best one for me right now, since it is offering me an opportunity to be a better man right now. What about the state of affairs I will find myself in tomorrow? That will be the best one for me tomorrow, since it will also offer me an opportunity to be a better man then.

I was always, from the very beginning, quite uncomfortable with the idea that certain people are rewarded by fortune for being good, and that certain people are punished by fortune for being bad. Can I not  just as easily be given pleasant circumstances while being a sinner, and unpleasant circumstances while being a saint? I wondered why this seemed so odd to people, because I saw it around me all of the time.

The trick, of course, is not letting life be ruled by fortune at all. It’s all good, if we choose to make it so, and it’s all bad, if we choose to make it so.

“But I will make the world in my image!” No, you won’t, because that it is not for you to decide. Let us stick to what is our own, and accept any of the rest with a character that proceeds from within us.

I have gotten some things I wanted, and very many more things I did not want at all. I have thought my life was wonderful when I was loved and appreciated, and I have thought it unbearable when I was rejected and ignored. Only a right understanding of my own nature helps me to gladly accept that everything necessary to embrace virtue is offered to me at any given moment, if only employed in the right way.

Written in 4/2009