Ta eis heauton (Things to one's self)

Wisdom from Roman Times

Greetings, dear Sunny Optimists,

I love the below quote. On the surface, there is a simplicity to it, yet within it resides a lifetime of personal diligence. That moment-by-moment choosing of our thoughts, knowing that happiness is an inner decision and is not dependent on external considerations. Not always easy, but heart-warming when we drop into a space of contentment, understanding or flow. 

This wisdom comes from 'Ta eis heauton' (Things to one's self), a series of personal meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, to support his self-improvement. As many of you know, I love exploring wisdom rooted in earlier times. There is often a perennial essence to such understanding that can help us make sense of the challenges we face in these modern times. Perhaps we can even rise above the immediacy of our concerns into an appreciation of what I call the 'arc of evolution'. We can rest in a state of understanding that there is something bigger at play than the turbulent microcosm we exist in day to day.

Martin Luther King famously said, "The moral arc of the universe is long and bends toward justice." For me, he is alluding to the Divine cosmology that we are part of a Universe that flows toward ever-increasing freedom, order, complexity, consciousness, knowledge, compassion, and love.

Marcus Aurelius advocated finding one's place in the Universe and seeing that everything comes from nature and everything will return to it in due course, saying, 

'You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite'.

I love the possibility of having a large room all to myself to embrace the totality of the Cosmos. In this metaphorical space, I am lying in a big comfy chair with a footstool and a sumptuous blanket tucked under my chin. As I focus on my breathing and relax, I can feel myself expanding into infinity, where the arc of evolution pulses through me.

Then a message comes,  Peace. Be Still. All is Well! 

Questions for the Week

It feels right to pause here and to leave you in your 'large room' to spend time with this delightful wisdom and I wonder;

• What does Marcus Aurelius’s wisdom evoke for you today?

• Are there superfluous troubles you might strip away in your life?

• How might you touch into the arc of evolution to bring new insights?

As always, I would love to hear from you:)

Ann