Welcome to The PATH (Monday Meditation) — A weekly reflection with three timeless insights for daily life. This week’s reflection searches for ancient lessons on how to lead like a Roman Emperor (the Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius).
1. Change
What can a Roman Emperor from two millennia ago teach us about leading in the modern world? As it turns out, we can learn much about embracing change, cultivating connection, and the common good from Marcus Aurelius.
Marcus’s journal, known today as Meditations, provides a plethora of practical wisdom for modern leaders. On the topic of change, Marcus wrote,
Is someone afraid of change? Well, what can ever come to be without change? Or what is dearer or closer to the nature of the Whole than change? Can you yourself take your bath, if the wood that heats it is not changed? Can you be fed, unless what you eat changes? Can any other of the benefits of life be achieved without change?
The passage points to two things: (1) change is inevitable, and (2) change is necessary. Furthermore, change is how the world works, which is a critical piece to understand in any philosophy of life. My interview with Massimo Pigliucci (author of A Field Guide to a Happy Life) revealed,
"If you don’t understand how the world works, you’re likely to make mistakes, sometimes fatal ones."
The virtuous life requires us, as the Stoics put it, to live in accordance with nature. Therefore, being adaptable is a crucial component of the good life.
2. Connection
For Marcus, a key component to living a virtuous life is realizing our inherent interconnectedness. For example, when Marcus premeditated on dealing with difficult people, he reminded himself that "we were born to work together, like feet or hands or eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth."
Similarly, regarding our interconnected nature, Marcus wrote,
A branch cut from its neighboring branch is necessarily cut away from the whole tree. In the same way, a human being severed from just one other human has dropped from the whole community. Now the branch is cut off by someone else, but a man separates himself from his neighbor by his hatred or rejection, not realizing that he has thereby severed himself from the wider society of fellow citizens. Only there is this gift from Zeus who brought together the human community: we can grow back again to our neighbor and resume our place in the complement of the whole.
Although we are connected by nature, Marcus’s comments to himself show that we easily forget or tend to see ourselves as separate individuals. For this reason, Marcus advises himself to meditate often on the interconnectedness of all things and their relation to each other.
3. The Common Good
One of my favorite articles on Medium is by Donald Robertson (a previous podcast guest) titled How Compassionate is Stoicism? Robertson writes,
In the very opening sentence of The Meditations, Marcus praises his grandfather, Marcus Annius Verus, for his exceptional freedom from anger. Indeed, one of the main themes that runs through the entire book is Marcus’ personal struggle to overcome anger and replace it with kindness, through philosophy — to turn himself away from the desire to harm others and toward the desire to help them.
One could argue that at the heart of all wisdom traditions are things like kindness, compassion, and acts for the common good. Marcus believed this to be so; he wrote to himself,
"The fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good."
To lead like a Roman Emperor is to see yourself as part of the greater whole. It is to realize that "what is good for the bee is good for the hive." But it’s important to point out that acts for the common good were not reserved strictly for Roman citizens. Robertson explains, "Marcus never talks about showing kindness specifically toward Roman citizens or subjects. In every instance, he’s talking more generally about human beings, the whole of mankind."
Learning to lead like Marcus Aurelius connects with learning to love. In his private notes, Marcus spent time writing passages like this: "Adapt yourself to the circumstances among which your lot has been cast, and love the people among whom your lot has fallen, but love them sincerely."
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
aurelius’ meditations is truly timeless. i resonate the most with its 2nd edition. such a beautiful piece of work. thank you for the reminder, came right on time. blessings.