Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is one of those books that change people’s perspective on life.

This stoic philosopher guides people to the state of not fearing obstacles, but using them to their own advantage instead. He also encourages his readers to remember the limitless beauty of the universe to which they belong, as well as to be minimalistic in their lives.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is not an ordinary philosophy book. It wasn’t written for people to read it. It’s a collection of the Roman Emperor’s life-changing philosophical thoughts and reflections, who was facing huge challenges during his reign including wars, the Antonine plague, the death of many of his children, and more. He needed to write down his thoughts to get more clarity, resilience, and patience. His words offer the readers of Meditations many practical and efficient tools to reach their goals, overcome obstacles, be kind to others, appreciate the beauty of the world, and more. Here are 3 quotes by Marcus Aurelius with an interpretation of them.

The obstacle is the way

"Our actions may be impeded… but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."1

Many people had never thought about obstacles that way before. Obstacles usually scare people and make them feel anxious. They would get discouraged whenever a bump in the road would appear.

Marcus Aurelius teaches individuals here to turn obstacles into opportunities. He emphasizes on the idea of showing them how they should proceed next. They force them to keep digging. They help them discover talents they might not have known they had. It makes sense, since obstacles push people to find their inner-strengths and, in the process of overcoming difficulties, become better human beings. People develop courage, resilience, and self-confidence. Why? Well, by acknowledging obstacles and working through them instead of resisting them, people start to develop the habit of jumping directly into the unknown. They find more strength since they have gotten used to tackling challenges with a positive attitude. No obstacle scares them anymore. In addition, by seeing themselves deal with adversity and learning from it, they begin to believe in themselves and their capabilities.

People facing obstacles in their journey indicates they are on the right path to growth. If everything were to be easy, what would be the point of pushing through anyways? It’s this inner joy people feel while overcoming obstacles that contributes to the purposeful life that they all strive for. 

The stars can help

“To watch the course of the stars as if you revolved with them. To keep constantly in mind how the elements alter into one another. Thoughts like this wash off the mud of life below.”2

Marcus Aurelius is explaining a practice that can help in reducing stress and anxiety. It is known that many astronauts look at the Earth from their space shuttle, and are amazed by the planet that blooms with humanity. They also are dazzled by the beauty and vastness of the universe; all wars and conflicts seem therefore pointless.

This is exactly what Marcus Aurelius describes in the quote above. He encourages individuals to imagine themselves running with the stars, while appreciating the universe with astonishment. Whenever they feel upset by a certain person or problem, they can start picturing themselves as astronauts. This exercise will help reduce people’s negative thoughts since they’ll be feeling a sense of humility. They remember that they represent only an extremely small portion of this immense universe.

The Stoic Emperor is also reminding the reader that change is the natural condition of the world. He explains that nothing lasts forever, everything will transform and change. Remembering how seasons change, for example, or how the storm will at last leave the place for the bright sun with its warm rays, is comforting. People can benefit from this by keeping in mind that the adversity they’re facing now will undoubtedly end. 

Do less, but better

“If you seek tranquility, do less. Or (more accurately) do what’s essential—what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better. Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary? But we need to eliminate unnecessary assumptions as well. To eliminate the unnecessary actions that follow."3

Marcus Aurelius is explaining many things in this passage. He’s discussing how a person can gain tranquility, and that is by doing the essential things only. Minimalism has many positive effects on people’s lives. Marcus was right.

In the 21st century, many individuals find themselves bombarded every minute with information from different sources including their smartphone, the news, social media, the radio, their coworkers, and more. They are also pushed by their peers to keep working and always doing more. For example, journalists are expected to write many articles per day. Bosses want their employees to keep working. Even normal individuals are advised to stay productive by famous productivity gurus online. The media is making people feel bad if they aren’t working all the time. No wonder why tranquility is becoming rarer nowadays! 

Marcus says that most of what people say and do is unnecessary. He is saying that people are wasting time with activities that could be perhaps replaced by much more beneficial options. For example, nowadays, people are always asked to give their opinion on matters that they aren’t experts in or to keep talking when they’d better start taking actions on their lives instead.

Marcus Aurelius recommends only doing the things that oneself finds to be a priority. This can be done by questioning himself or herself on the importance of any task that he or she is about to do.

An important aspect of this passage from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is that this selectivity in choosing what to say and do will not only render people’s lives more tranquil, but it’ll also help them achieve tasks in a more productive way. This is because they’ll gain more time to focus on these specific tasks.

Lastly, Marcus advises the individual to also eliminate unnecessary assumptions. For example, this could include the judgements people make about people they’ve never met. Having such judgements can significantly reduce the interaction between people since it’s not based on actual experiences.

Aurelius, M. (2002). Meditations (G. Hays, Trans.). Modern Library