[marcus aurelius]Flickr/Sébastien Bertrand The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled from 161 to 180 AD, and developed a reputation for being the ideal wise leader Plato termed the "philosopher king." Marcus has remained relevant for 1,800 years largely due to his writings collected as "Meditations," which President Bill Clinton has said is one of his favorite books. "Meditations" is closer to a diary than a philosophical treatise. Marcus wrote its 12 books sometime during the tumultuous last decade of his life. He dealt with hardships by turning to philosophy, specifically the Stoicism of the ancient Greeks and his contemporary Roman philosophers. "Meditations" reveals that Marcus remained in control of his emotions through the beliefs that nature unfolds in a perfect way and that one must accept that they cannot change the past or what other people feel in their hearts. We went through Gregory Hays' translation and highlighted recurring points. DON'T SPEND TIME WORRYING ABOUT FRIVOLOUS PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO POSITIVE IMPACT ON OTHERS. "Marcus Aurelius Distributing Bread to the People"/Joseph-Marie Vien Your energy and time are both limited, so don't waste them on what those inconsequential to your life are doing, thinking, and saying, Marcus says. The duty of a human being is to help others that we share life with, and one should not fill one's mind with anxiety-inducing, frivolous thoughts, especially since they often lead to negative outcomes. "A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object," Marcus writes. "You're better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve." LIVE IN THE PRESENT. Oli Scarff/Getty Images "Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see," Marcus writes. There is nothing to be gained from letting your mind live separate from where your body finds itself. REFRAIN FROM IMPOSING YOUR FEELINGS ONTO REALITY. Zohra Bensemra/Reuters The emperor was faced with constant fighting, the rebellion of his general Cassius, the deaths of his wife and close friend, and the realization that his son Commodus was destined to be a bad ruler. But when he removed his feelings from how he perceived these events, he was able to have empathy for the people who disappointed him and acceptance for the losses that hurt him, since nothing in nature — like death and decay — is evil, he writes. SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER
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