“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.”
It is with a stoic heart that I delve deeper into this quote from my Meditations. The words within serve as a reminder of the principles that guide us towards a virtuous existence, despite the challenges that may befall us. It speaks to the essence of our life philosophy, which is to cultivate a sense of inner peace, resilience and wisdom in the face of adversity. To live life in accordance with nature, to practice self-control, and to cultivate compassion for all beings, regardless of their behaviour towards oneself.
This was a reminder to myself to begin each day with a clear and peaceful mind, free from the disturbances that may arise from external circumstances. To prepare one’s thoughts for the challenges that we may encounter in our daily lives, and to remain steadfast in our determination to move towards a more virtuous existence. It recognises the fact that many people we encounter may inflict their negative traits on others, but that it’s important to not be swayed by their behaviour. Instead, it is crucial to recognise that their actions stem from ignorance and to maintain a sense of compassion for their plight. This is because, at some point in our lives, we have all exhibited these traits, and it is a natural part of the human experience.
By acknowledging this fact, we are able to cultivate a sense of empathy and understanding for others, even in the face of their negativity. This, in turn, allows us to maintain a peaceful state of mind, free from the turmoil that often arises from external circumstances. We create our own emotions by our own thoughts and perceptions, not by external events. By focusing on cultivating a virtuous inner life, we are able to live in peace, regardless of those around us.
We are all connected. We share a common humanity and that our ultimate goal should be to live in harmony with each other. I encourage you to embrace this connection and to see others as our equals. We must strive to work together, much like the different parts of our bodies work together to form a harmonious whole. To feel anger or hatred towards others is to go against the natural order of things and only serves only to cause inner turmoil.
Thus, we must start each day by accepting that some people we encounter may challenge our goal of living in harmony, and instead remain focused on our true aim: to live a virtuous life and cultivate compassion for all beings. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus once stated, “The only constant in life is change.” In the context of this quote, the only thing that changes is the person who is ungrateful or surly to others - sometimes that person is even ourselves.
