Do you ever have trouble getting out of bed in the morning? If so, you’re in good company; the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius did as well. In his personal journal, known as Meditations, he wrote, “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being.”
You might not think you have much in common with Marcus Aurelius. He was a Roman emperor who commanded an army of nearly half a million men and ruled over an empire that comprised one-fifth of the world’s population.
Eric Weiner (a previous podcast guest) writes in the Socrates Express, “Yet I read Marcus, and our differences dissolve. We are brothers, Marcus and I. He, running and empire and wrestling with his demons; and me, feeding the cat and wrestling with my demons. We have a common enemy: mornings.”
Do you know why you got out of bed today? Here is how Marcus Aurelius wrestled with and ultimately answered the question:
“At dawn, when you’re reluctant to get up, have this thought readily available I have work to do as a human being, and that’s why I’m getting up. Do I still resent it if I’m on my way to do the work for which I was born and for the sake of which I was brought into the world? Or is this what I was made for, to lie in bed and keep myself warm? ‘But it’s really nice.’ So is pleasure what you were born for? And, in general, was it for feeling, not for doing? Can’t you see plants, sparrows, ants, spiders, and bees all doing their own work and playing their part in the world’s order? And are you then reluctant to do human work? Why aren’t you eager to do what comes naturally to you? ‘But rest is important too.’ Yes, I agree. Nature has set limits on rest…”
Our views and beliefs shape our actions. For Marcus, getting up is connected to the belief that it is his duty as a human being. He has a “duty” to get out of bed, not an “obligation.” Duty comes from the inside, and obligation comes from the outside. “When we act out of a sense of duty,” explains Weiner, “we do so voluntarily to lift ourselves and others higher.”
Meditations is unlike any book. It is not really a book at all. It is more of a compilation of reminders and pep talks. The classicist Pierre Hadot described it this way, to read Meditations is to witness an act of philosophy in real time. To watch someone in the process of training themselves to be a human being.
The next time you’re reluctant to get out of bed, don’t think about your obligations; instead, turn to your duty as a human being.
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Thank you for listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
How to Get Out of Bed - Like Marcus Aurelius