Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: He hath a stronger body, and is a…
He hath a stronger body, and is a better wrestler than I. What then? Is he more bountiful? is he more modest? Doth he bear all adverse chances with more equanimity: or with his neighbour's offences with more meekness and gentleness than I?
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
Someone will always be stronger, richer, better connected, or more naturally gifted than you. If your measure of worth is the scoreboard, you will never be finished comparing. Marcus redirects the question. Fine, another person is a better athlete—are they more generous? More disciplined with anger? More patient when plans collapse? More forgiving when someone lets them down? Those are the comparisons that improve a life, because they point toward qualities we can practice. We cannot control our height, our competition, or the hand we were dealt. We can control whether we use our advantages kindly and endure our disadvantages with dignity. Social media makes it easy to compare visible achievements while ignoring invisible character. Do not let someone else’s highlight reel become evidence against yourself. Today, replace one envious thought with a better question: what virtue can I strengthen, regardless of what anyone else has?
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