Greetings Friends!
As a reminder, our virtual event on The Art (and Science) of Living Well is today. Although the event is part of our Happiness & the Meaning of Life course — everyone is welcome to attend! The event begins on Saturday (Oct 14th) at Noon EST (Register here).
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📿 On Working Together
This week’s Saturday meditation comes from the writings of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. In his Meditations (or Notes to Himself), he wrote,
We’re all working together toward a single end, some consciously and knowingly, others in ignorance—like Heraclitus’s sleepers, I think, whom he described as laborers, working together at what happens in the universe. Everyone makes a different contribution; there’s room even for the man who doesn’t like what’s happening and tries to resist it and make it not happen. The universe needs him too.
It is interesting to contemplate what our roles are in the world. And how, at times, we can take on roles that are not exactly ours. In the following passage, Marcus asks himself, “Does the sun take on the work of the rain? Does Asclepius take on the work of the Lady of the Harvest? What about the heavenly bodies? Each of them is different, but they still work together toward the same end.”
Contemplation Questions (Pick one or create your own!):
What does it mean to consciously “work together” with the world?
What is the “same end” we are working towards?
This Week’s Meditations…
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Thank you for reading/listening this week; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. Feel free to comment, ask questions, or make suggestions!