Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: Let not things future trouble thee. For…
Let not things future trouble thee. For if necessity so require that they come to pass, thou shalt (whensoever that is) be provided for them with the same reason, by which whatsoever is now present, is made both tolerable and acceptable unto thee.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
The future has a special talent for making us suffer twice: once in imagination and, if it comes, once in reality. Marcus reminds himself that the same mind which handles today’s problems will be available when tomorrow’s arrive. You do not need to pre-live every hard conversation, illness, expense, or career uncertainty in order to be prepared. In fact, rehearsing disaster often exhausts the energy you would need to meet it well. This is not a case against planning. Make the appointment, save money, prepare the presentation, buy insurance. Then stop treating an uncertain future as a current emergency. If the feared event arrives, you will bring to it the judgment, courage, and resourcefulness you have used before. If it never arrives, you will not have wasted today under its shadow. Today’s task is to handle today. Trust your future self enough to leave them their own problems.
Related passages
- Marcus Aurelius Stir up thy mind, and recall thy wits again from thy natural dreams, and visions, and when thou art perfectly awoken,…
- Marcus Aurelius I consist of body and soul. Unto my body all things are indifferent, for of itself it cannot affect one thing more…
- Marcus Aurelius In another man's mind and understanding thy evil Cannot subsist, nor in any proper temper or distemper of the natural…