Stoic Morning Meditation: Dealing with Others and Finding Inner Peace
Morning Preparation: Dealing with Difficult People
Begin the morning by saying to yourself: I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, the arrogant, the deceitful, the envious, the unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
But I, who have seen the nature of the good—that it is beautiful—and of the bad—that it is ugly—and the nature of him who does wrong—that it is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed, but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity, I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him.
For we are made for **cooperation**, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another, then, is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away.
Understanding the Self: Flesh, Breath, and the Ruling Part
Whatever this is that I am, it is composed of three parts: a little flesh, breath, and the ruling part.
Despising the Flesh and Observing the Breath
Throw away your books; no longer distract yourself: it is not allowed! But as if you were now dying, despise the flesh. It is blood and bones and a network, a contexture of nerves, veins, and arteries.
See the breath also, what kind of a thing it is: air, and not always the same, but every moment sent out and again sucked in.
The Primacy of the Ruling Part
The third, then, is the ruling part. Consider this: You are an old man. No longer let this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet to unsocial movements, no longer either be dissatisfied with your present lot, or shrink from the future.
Providence, Fortune, and Universal Nature
All that is from the gods is full of **Providence**. That which is from fortune is not separated from nature or without an interweaving and involution with the things which are ordered by Providence.
Necessity and the Advantage of the Whole
From thence all things flow; and there is besides necessity, and that which is for the advantage of the whole universe, of which you are a part. But that is good for every part of nature which the nature of the whole brings, and what serves to maintain this nature. Now the universe is preserved, as by the changes of the elements, so by the changes of things compounded of the elements.
Fixed Principles and Gratitude
Let these principles be enough for you; let them always be fixed opinions. But cast away the thirst after books, that you may not die murmuring, but cheerfully, truly, and from your heart thankful to the gods.
Reflection on the Self (Second Instance)
Whatever this is that I am, it is composed of three parts: a little flesh, breath, and the ruling part.
Despising the Flesh and Observing the Breath (II)
Throw away your books; no longer distract yourself: it is not allowed! But as if you were now dying, despise the flesh. It is blood and bones and a network, a contexture of nerves, veins, and arteries.
See the breath also, what kind of a thing it is: air, and not always the same, but every moment sent out and again sucked in.
The Primacy of the Ruling Part (II)
The third, then, is the ruling part. Consider this: You are an old man. No longer let this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet to unsocial movements, no longer either be dissatisfied with your present lot, or shrink from the future.
Providence and Universal Order (Second Instance)
All that is from the gods is full of **Providence**. That which is from fortune is not separated from nature or without an interweaving and involution with the things which are ordered by Providence.
Necessity and the Advantage of the Whole (II)
From thence all things flow; and there is besides necessity, and that which is for the advantage of the whole universe, of which you are a part. But that is good for every part of nature which the nature of the whole brings, and what serves to maintain this nature. Now the universe is preserved, as by the changes of the elements, so by the changes of things compounded of the elements.
Fixed Principles and Gratitude (II)
Let these principles be enough for you; let them always be fixed opinions. But cast away the thirst after books, that you may not die murmuring, but cheerfully, truly, and from your heart thankful to the gods.