Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: Wipe off all idle fancies, and say unto…
Wipe off all idle fancies, and say unto thyself incessantly; Now if I will, it is in my power to keep out of this my soul all wickedness, all lust, and concupiscences, all trouble and confusion. But on the contrary to behold and consider all things according to their true nature, and to carry myself towards everything according to its true worth. Remember then this thy power that nature hath given thee.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
Your mind will offer you a constant stream of interpretations: they disrespected me, this will never work, I need that to be happy, everyone is judging me. You do not have to admit every one of them. Marcus calls us back to a capacity we often forget: the ability to examine a thought before obeying it. That pause is where freedom lives. It may be only a few seconds between seeing a message and firing back, or between feeling anxious and opening another distracting app. But it is enough. Ask what is actually true, what matters, and what response would be worthy of you. You cannot prevent every impulse, fear, or fantasy from appearing. You can decide which ones get to run the day. Practice clearing one unnecessary story from your mind today.
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