meditations 
by marcus aurelius

Introduction
‘Meditations’ is one of a kind book, which is basically a compilation of the private journal entries of Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who was one of the pioneer leaders of Stoicism and a very staunch Stoic himself.

In this book, he has shared his advice on how to live a better life and become more empathetic, patient, strong, generous, humble and ground. The book is packed with wisdom and contains extremely valuable advice which, if implemented in your everyday life, can really make it beautiful and meaningful.

Initially, it wasn’t compiled into chapters, but later, as it gained popularity, it was divided into different books, sections and chapters.

Books I, II and III
The Book 1 of Meditations talks about the different people in Marcus’s life who influenced him in different ways. The second book talks about how we need to be patient and nonjudgmental with the different ill-tempered and rude people we come across because all of us have some faults.

The third book lays down some principles and foundational ideas Marcus took from the different Stoic philosophers he looked up to including mindfulness. Like he writes in the book, “We live only in the present, in this fleet-footed moment. The rest is lost and behind us or ahead of us and may never be found.”

The book talks about how many of us have the habit of rehashing the past or being too concerned about the future. Sadly, not many of us live in the present and really focus on the moments that we allow to slip by and go to waste. We complain about how things didn’t turn out to be as we hoped and fret over how things may not be as we expect them to be, but we hardly pause to reflect on the moments that we have right now. Our present is what matters and if we pay attention to it, we can use it to create a very beautiful tomorrow, but not a lot of us realize this.

Books IV, V and VI
The fourth book talks about how we can find peace and solitude in our own mind and the fifth book highlights the important of doing something meaningful every day. Like Marcus states in the fourth book, “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you find strength.”

The book emphasizes on how man only has control over his/ her mind and not the external factors. Often, we stress over how things aren’t as we desired them to be and complain about it. This only adds to our stress and doesn’t better the situation. If only we realize that only our thoughts are in our control, we can change the way we think, feel and believe and stop fixating on what could have been and what can be, and enjoy what is.

The sixth book is dedicated to highlighting the importance of being accountable to your duties and serving one another because accountability is what leads to responsibility and when one is responsible, he/ she is able to build a meaningful life for himself/ herself.

Books VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII
In the seventh book, you learn about the significance of patience and tolerance in life and the eighth book talks about how being disconnected to nature and family upsets your life. It also highlights some regrets Marcus had in life. One of the quotes in the book reads, “Stop debating what a good person should be and just be one.”

It describes how a lot of us often spend considerable time debating on what a good person should be like and how he/ she needs to be have. Sadly, not many of us stop the debate and work on becoming a good person. Our efforts are often focused on initiating discussions and even turning them into heated debates. If only we concentrate more on practically implementing the advice we often give others, things would be simpler and more effective. Also, if you show people a practical implementation of how a good person should be, you will inspire them more because actions do speak louder than words.

In the ninth, tenth and eleventh book, Marcus has talked about sin, the importance of being modest, honest and sincere. The twelfth book in Meditations talks about how oftentimes we don’t value our own opinion and pay little regard to our own self.

Conclusion
In the 12 books, Marcus Aurelius provides guidelines on how to live a meaningful, empowered life, find your vision and build goals consistent with the vision so you stop moving haphazardly, become focused and live a consistent, meaningful life.