No time for reading. For controlling your arrogance, yes. For overcoming pain and pleasure, yes. For outgrowing ambition, yes. For not feeling anger at stupid and unpleasant people—even for caring about them—for that, yes.
Meditations 8:8
I think I will ignore the advice about reading. “The first thing to go is the reading” is what Bob used to say. Meaning: if you want to maintain your spiritual condition, you must do the work. And keep doing it.
Part of that work is keeping your mind focused. Reading spiritual works (and I include Meditations in that category) is essential to that focus. Or, the Carpenter said “pray without ceasing”. Think of the reading as a form of prayer: your mind is directed away from self-thoughts and toward higher thoughts.
All the rest of what Marcus Aurelius talks about: these bedevil me. The arrogance. The anger. Those feelings are so justified, though. 🙃 Look at The World Today, Kids Today and Their Music, Those Corrupt Politicians, etc.
It is so easy to fall into smug arrogance.
“You know what your problem is? I know exactly what you’re doing wrong. Here, let me tell you.” Bob used to joke about that.
The Fourth Way people and the Sufi masters (if I remember right, and I long ago discarded all of those books) would talk about the dangers of confronting people with precisely-identified error. Better to follow the way of the fox. (That is, lead someone to enlightenment through an indirect path).
It takes a strong person, when facing a direct accusation of error, to deliberately choose to be defenseless and openminded.
I remember back in those days consciously choosing, in conversations, to be a boxer who kept his arms at his side, accepting any blows without retaliation. That’s what I got from Bob, Ouspensky, and the Sufis.
That spiritual muscle is serving me well, even today, in business. I’m a horrible business manager. When confronted by grievously wrong things I’ve done (we are digging out of a hole right now), I stand there, choosing not to defend my ego. It’s wonderful.
But that’s not what I’m talking about. And that’s not what I’m getting from Marcus Aurelius today. The direct attack on others (motivated by good intentions, even) that leads to anger and arrogance mostly hurts me. Not them, whoever they are.
I can hate a politician. Who is harmed? Me. I rattle these thoughts around in my head and get riled up. The politician doesn’t even know I exist and is unaffected by my disdain.
I can express my hatred of that politician to another person. Who is harmed? Me. My comments drive away other people. If they like the politician I have created an unnecessary point of division. If they share my feelings of disdain, they will be wary of me in the future.
Anger and arrogance, sooner or later, seek out other targets. And who wants to be in the line of fire when an angry, arrogant person starts forming opinions about people and things around him? I know I shun people like that.
Memo to self. You can’t afford to be angry and arrogant. Even if you’re right (and you absolutely are not the smartest and best-informed person of the 7.5 billion people alive, so don’t pretend that such feelings are well-grounded).
My opinions harm only me.
My life is important to me.
Let’s live the good life today.
Freedom has been enabled for the day across all of my devices. (The worst of the poison has been blocked).
I have read a bit from Meditations and written down these thoughts. (Spiritual focus exists, even though this is ephemeral).
Now, coffee and a light breakfast. Then: address the task at hand as a journeyman would. And later: light physical training. Weights or a 5k.