Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: As ready therefore must a sound…
As ready therefore must a sound understanding be for whatsoever shall happen. But he that saith, O that my children might live! and, O that all men might commend me for whatsoever I do! is an eye that seeks after green things; or as teeth, after that which is tender.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
A sound mind is flexible, not because it expects only good news, but because it has stopped demanding guarantees. We naturally want our children safe, our work praised, our plans successful. Love and aspiration make those wishes understandable. The trouble begins when we make our peace conditional on them. Then we become like an eye demanding only one color or teeth demanding only soft food—poorly equipped for the variety of life. Strength is the ability to meet what arrives, including what you would not have chosen. You can work for your child’s wellbeing and still accept you cannot control every outcome. You can do excellent work and still survive criticism. Today, notice where you are asking reality to feed you only what feels pleasant. Practice becoming a little more capable of receiving the rest.
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