Marcus Aurelius: Alexander and the keeper of his mule…

Rank can organize a society, but it cannot change our basic human condition. The celebrated leader and the overlooked worker both depend on food, sleep, love, luck, and time. Both eventually leave behind possessions, titles, and the story they told about themselves. This equal ending can humble arrogance and soften inferiority. If you are tempted to feel important because of position, remember how little position protects against life’s common limits. If you feel diminished because your work receives little notice, remember that recognition is not a measure of human worth. Today, treat someone whose role is easy to overlook with the same courtesy you would offer someone powerful. And treat your own ordinary duties with respect. The value of an action rests in its fairness and care, not in the size of the audience. Mortality makes room for a more honest kind of equality.