Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: Those things that are his own, and in…
Those things that are his own, and in his own power, he himself takes order, for that they be good: and as for those that happen unto him, he believes them to be so. For that lot and portion which is assigned to every one, as it is unavoidable and necessary, so is it always profitable.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
The Stoic move is to take responsibility for your own choices and meet what you cannot control as material for growth. Marcus says a wise person makes what is theirs—their judgments and actions—good, while accepting external events as part of the portion life has assigned. This does not mean every hardship is secretly pleasant or that you should tolerate injustice. A layoff, diagnosis, betrayal, or loss can be genuinely painful. But after the first blow, you still decide what the event will draw from you: panic, bitterness, honesty, endurance, resourcefulness, or care for others. You may not have chosen the situation, but you can choose not to waste it. Today, identify one circumstance you have been fighting in your mind. Ask not, "Why did this happen to me?" but, "What virtues does this situation require now?" Then perform the smallest action that answers.
Related passages
- Marcus Aurelius Accept then, and be pleased with whatsoever doth happen, though otherwise harsh and un-pleasing, as tending to that…
- Marcus Aurelius That inward mistress part of man if it be in its own true natural temper, is towards all worldly chances and events…
- Marcus Aurelius As thou dost purpose to live, when thou hast retired thyself to some such place, where neither roarer nor harlot is:…