Marcus Aurelius was one of the exemplary emperors in Rome and known as the last of the five good Roman emperors. Marcus trained on Stoic philosophy, which emphasizes on personal ethics and happiness of human beings. Marcus Aurelius was thus able to note down his everyday experiences on journals guided by his training on Stoicism that led to the development of the book Meditations. The Meditations book has shaped the subject of philosophy over the years as it focuses more on how an individual can grow and live life. Aurelius explains his experiences as he tackles each day and the significant meanings of his experiences in his daily life. Moreover, Aurelius went through years of struggle and pain as he lost his children, his wife, and betrayed by his general. He found a way of channeling his emotions through journaling his experiences that have come to be used by almost everyone in their daily lives. The central themes explained in his book are about time, will, and ethics (Aurelius 34). In this essay, the central issue discussed is time as a philosophy as it had a significant influence on Aurelius reign as a Roman emperor and is the core factor that influences people to live a good, fulfilling and happy life.
Living a good life according to Marcus Aurelius
Positive and negative experiences affect how we live our lives. Marcus Aurelius however documented in his journals on how we can live a good life. In his book Meditations, Marcus Aurelius highlights that to live a good life; people should not waste their time worrying about what another person is doing and why they are doing it. An individual should also not worry what the other person is saying or thinking as this may distract people from focusing on what they are meant to do (Aurelius 103). Marcus Aurelius points out that time is limited and people should focus on the now. Many people worry about what other people will say or think if they decide to quit their job or venture into a new business. People thus get distracted from doing what they need to do and therefore waste a lot of time and energy trying to figure out what people think of them and what they do. Aurelius further states that people should thus focus on doing their best, trust that what they are doing is for the best, and not wait for approval from people as people carry their fate (Aurelius 104).
Aurelius also states that one should not waste time on nonsense (Aurelius 76). Most people focus on issues that are not relevant to their lives such as pleasing other people instead of focusing on their happiness, letting fear stop them from doing what want to do or sticking to a job that one hates. Such reasons are what Aurelius states as nonsense as they are just excuses that prevent people from living the life they want and deserve. Aurelius explains that people should concentrate on the relevant things of life that will enable them to lead a good life by focusing on things that will bring positivity to their lives. Additionally, people should try to let go of fear to be happy and live a life full of joy.Additionally, Marcus Aurelius describes the experience of time by stating that the gods have given a person many chances in this life to do what one wants but have been postponing time to do what they need to do (Aurelius 92). Marcus also adds that there people have limited time on this world and if people do not use this time to free themselves and fulfill their purpose, then time will be gone and never return (Aurelius 92). Aurelius’ statements describe how people live their lives, by postponing relevant issues that are important to their lives. There is a time that comes when people start living with guilt and regret for not doing things that were purposeful and fulfilling for their lives because they kept postponing what was relevant to them. Moreover, Aurelius encourages people to free themselves from all distractions by doing their work as if it was the final day of their life and to stop living without a purpose (Aurelius 92). Thus, Aurelius advises people to make the value of every moment of their lives.
Marcus Aurelius also claims that the material things in this earth and the memory of these objects vanish with time. Additionally, Aurelius argues that the real natures of the objects people sense or feel especially those that bring pleasure or fear are those that disappear with time as people experience new situations every day. He further explains that to understand these things; people need to use their intellectuality to understand these experiences (Aurelius 95). Thus, people should not dwell much on their problems or keep worrying, as this will not change their situations. Hence, to live a good life, people should understand that whatever experiences people go through, they are not permanent and thus should always embrace the present and move forward from their experiences.Aurelius also describes time as a river with vigorous currents that show events once in the glimpse of an eye and pass people as if it was just a memory and another follows and moves on (Aurelius 126). Time is always moving, and that is why Aurelius describes time as a river. As time moves, there is an aspect of people's lives that becomes the past and one can never turn back. Time also describes the present, the now that people can do what they want to live the good life they want. People have to understand the aspects of time to accept what they can and cannot change. Being optimistic and living in the now is what is essential according to Aurelius as that is instrumental in helping people live a good life.
According to Aurelius, an individual’s destiny was set from the beginning of time meaning that whatever happens was laid down before their time began. An individual’s existence and the things waiting to happen is fate (Aurelius 229). For people to live a good life, they have to accept that they exist for a reason and that good or bad situations will happen in a person's lifetime. Thus, Aurelius states this concept so that people may accept their purpose, be optimistic about their experiences, and live a fulfilling and joyous life. Additionally, people have to create time for themselves to learn something worthwhile and not pulled in all directions (Aurelius 93). Aurelius also stated that people who work their lives with no purpose are wasting their time, even though they put a lot of effort towards their work. For people to be happy and live a good life, they have to stop working at jobs they hate and do what they are passionate to do. Moreover, people should learn to understand their purpose as time is limited to do many things that do not add value to their lives. Thus, people should find that one thing that is valuable and can bring fulfillment and happiness in their lives.
Present and cosmic timescale perspectives
Marcus Aurelius explains that living in the present is what matters and people should focus on that. Aurelius describes the aspect of living in the present in several parts of his journals. For example, Aurelius states that if one has seen the present, they have seen everything as it has been the same since the beginning as it will be forever (Aurelius 162). However, Aurelius also focuses on the cosmic timescale perspective in his philosophy by suggesting that people should focus their concerns in a broader context. For example, Aurelius cosmic timescale perspective is evident when he describes Asia and Europe as distant recesses of the universe and the present as a slip second in eternity (Aurelius 161). Thus both the present and the cosmic timescales are compatible as they both describe that time is of importance, especially the present which happens in a split second. According to Aurelius, the speed at which objects come into being and only to be absorbed in an instant into eternity, people should appreciate how tiny their own lives are in comparison with the thousands of years that comprise the history of humans or life on earth (Aurelius 277). Thus, people should accept their purpose on this earth and the limited time they have on the vast abyss. However, according to the present perspective, people only have the moment to live their purpose; the present time is the one that matters. Additionally, in the cosmic timescale perspective, Aurelius explains that from the universe, everything can be seen in an instance and the actions and concerns of any person if not trivial, then of no great importance (Aurelius 180). This perspective is similar to the present outlook in that whatever happens at a particular moment such as breaking a plate is not significant in any way, as it has already happened.
The cosmic perspective helps people to understand the experiences they go through as they help challenge the values whether good or bad as they affect people in all manner of ways. The personal perspective helps people understand the experiences they go through at the moment and thus the cosmic perspective and the present perspective are compatible in that they both explain about the moment and not about the past or the future. Moreover, they both describe that no matter the event, whether good or bad, time is a factor that people should not waste and should thus guard and utilize it to its maximum.
Influence of Aurelius time philosophy on his political responsibilities as a Roman Emperor
Aurelius’ council or people’s opinions would not have affected his judgment in the way he was to rule Rome. According to Aurelius (103), Aurelius states that one should not waste their energy focusing on what other people say or think about them unless it affects other people who may need help. Thus, Aurelius would have concentrated more of his time on handling the issues of his people by listening to their problems and helping them as they were important people as he ruled over them. Additionally, he would be more social to the community and would thus do his very best and trust that what he does is for the best as he states that one carries their fate. Aurelius aimed to be an individual not controlled by pleasures or frightened by pain as all these aspects would vanish, as they are not permanent due to time. Additionally, Aurelius view on not wasting time on nonsense but focusing on the relevant issues would have increased his performance on his political responsibilities as a Roman emperor (Aurelius 76). Many leaders focus on the irrelevant issues in order to amass wealth or continue staying in power. According to Aurelius, irrelevant things such as wealth, what people say about how he handles some issues was not an issue for him. This is because he focused more on a wider context that time moves in a split second and one should focus on the present. The concept of not focusing on irrelevant issues would have improved his performance of his political responsibilities such as offering wise judgment to the entire region of Rome. Moreover, Aurelius would not have gone to war blindly if it would affect his people in a negative way.
The political responsibilities of Marcus Aurelius affected by his time concept that one has many chances but decide to postpone thinking that another time would be the best time. Aurelius would have achieved most of his agendas or goals that involved running his region by doing all his duties at that particular moment. For example, if it meant passing a law, Aurelius would not have waited until the right moment as he stated that there was no right moment. The best time was the present, and hence Aurelius worked with the present to do his best in any duty accorded to him (Aurelius 92). Aurelius views of fate affected his political responsibilities in that there was a reason situations happened the way they did. As Aurelius (229) stated, a person's existence was set from the beginning of time. For example, when Cassius, his general, decided to take the emperor’s title when Aurelius fell ill, he set out on a journey to go fight him. Before Aurelius reached his destination, Aurelius subordinates killed him before he arrived (Aurelius 19). This shows that Aurelius held up to his political responsibilities and that fate was already set from the beginning of time that Cassius was to betray him and get killed by his soldiers. Aurelius handles his political responsibilities with ease, as he was wise and strong, as he did not waste his time with things that did not matter (Aurelius 93). Time was of the essence to not waste time doing things that he did not matter, like listening to naysayers but devoted his time to learn the Greek language and learn the Stoic philosophy that enabled him to be one of the best emperors in Roman history. Additionally, through learning Stoicism, he was able to lead Rome through Stoic philosophies, which focus on reason and self-restraint. This enabled Aurelius to be humble and offer sound judgment, which focused on time, will and ethics.
Conclusion
Aurelius influenced philosophy greatly. Many people have used Aurelius book as it directly affects how they live. Aurelius works have been studied less than other philosophers and great writers but translated to many languages than the latter (Aurelius 63). He uses the same themes to describe different instances of his life and thus shows that human beings experience the same situations every day. The only difference is that time, meaning that people experience situations at different points in their lives. That is why Aurelius’ aspect of time is essential as it shows that time is of importance to understand our experiences. Aurelius trained on Stoicism philosophy that mainly focused on fate, reason, and self-restraint. Aurelius works are known for his views on how time affects people. Aurelius explains that the present is the best time for a human being as the past and the future do not matter as time is a river and when glimpsed once carries the past (Aurelius 126). Aurelius view on time is fundamental as it explains that time is of the essence and people should not waste it on irrelevant issues that may be insignificant in how they live their life. He emphasizes that people should stop procrastinating and aim to live good and fulfilling lives thus leading to happiness. Aurelius words will continue to influence the world as it touches on people’s daily lives, hence should be followed to live a happy life.
Works Cited
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Translation by Gregory Hays, Modern Library, 2003.
