Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: Use thyself when any man speaks unto…
Use thyself when any man speaks unto thee, so to hearken unto him, as that in the interim thou give not way to any other thoughts; that so thou mayst (as far as is possible) seem fixed and fastened to his very soul, whosoever he be that speaks unto thee.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
Most conversations are not conversations at all. One person speaks while the other composes a reply, checks a notification, revisits an argument, or waits for an opening to tell their own story. Marcus asks for a rarer kind of attention: listen so completely that the speaker feels you are present with them, not merely near them. This is not a performance technique. It is a form of justice. Every person deserves, at least for a few minutes, not to compete with the noise in your head. Put your phone away. Let a pause remain a pause. Ask the follow-up question instead of rushing to advice. This matters with a struggling child, a frustrated employee, a partner sharing something small, or a stranger whose life is very different from yours. Today, give one person your undivided attention. It costs little and communicates more than eloquence.
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