Do wrong to yourself, do wrong to yourself, my soul; but you will no longer have the opportunity of honoring yourself.
But yours is nearly finished, though your soul reverences not itself but places your felicity in the souls of others.
—from Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.6
I am slowly learning how a profound truth can be inspirational in theory, even as it may then become terrifying in practice. It really hits home once it starts to hurt.
If you tell me how a man might waste his whole life on trivialities, I will nod my head knowingly. But when I finally confront my own indecision, I am filled with a sense of urgency.
That panic will pass as soon as I commit to Nature over Fortune. Now. Not tomorrow.
IMAGE: Anthony van Dyck, The Head of an Old Man (c. 1620)
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