Aurelius Mediations Book 1 Analysis

In Mediations – Book IV by the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, Aurelius give us some pointers on how we can live life with happiness and contentment. He reminds us not to stress out too much over what we can’t control, and that change is inevitable and it happens naturally constantly. He also tells us that we shouldn’t care what others think of us and we should just live life as we are meant to: by being good for the good of all. He states that “everything which is beautiful in any way is beautiful in itself” (Aurelius). We shouldn’t want praise from others, because the lack of it does not in any way change who we are. Aurelius also tells us that “everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered.” By this, he is telling us that everything we do, say, and think is only temporary. People will not remember every last thing you did in life after you die. He wants us to understand that—in his opinion—life is not something that we should cherish, because in the …show more content…
The main point I find displeasing is towards the end. Aurelius tells us: “Do not consider life a thing of any value.” Though he made a good point telling us not to care what others think of us, why shouldn’t we value our lives? He makes the argument that we are only a tiny spot on a humongous universe and that life constantly comes and goes. For this reason, he believes that we should attempt to stay tranquil in our own minds, and not worry about what we can and can’t do in our lives because we can’t change it. While it is true that we can’t change what is given to us naturally, I believe that we can change the way we approach it and try to gain some benefit from it. Overall, these things that we can’t change shouldn’t make us value life any less than it should be valued, and we definitely shouldn’t decide not to care about our lives at