5h • General discussion
Day 3 - Meditations Week
In closing the rumination over Book 1, we’ll look at Marcus Aurelius’s reflections on his adoptive father, the Emperor Antoninus.
“I also observed his habit of careful inquiry in all matters of deliberation, and his persistence, and that he never stopped his investigation through being satisfied with appearances which first present themselves; and that his disposition was to keep his friends, and not to be quickly tired of them, nor to be extravagant in his displays of affection.”
My thoughts: It is apparent that Marcus Aurelius had a profound level of respect for his adoptive father. The paragraph demonstrates a mere fraction of the level of respect, focused on Antoninus’s ability to go beyond superficial interest.
And that’s a point I’d like to visit. It seems these days, many people favour immediate gratification. We see it in fast fashion brands like Shein, social media, and pop songs with meaningless lyrics.
Aside from these, we see a modern society mired by false relationships, in what is Marcus Aurelius might consider “extravagant in his displays of affection.”
Standards are dropping because humans are getting easily satisfied. It’s quantity over quality these days. I am concerned about traditional arts like ballet, classic film, and literature (I’m most vexed about this).
Influencers are building pretentious relationships en masse with their fans for the sake of popularity, catfish dating horror stories, and let’s not get started with the prevalence of fake news.
So what we can learn here perhaps, is that it’s critical to view the world with greater involvement. Don’t blindly trust what you see on your RSS feed. We need to relearn what it means to be intellectuals and resharpen our faculties.
What are your thoughts fellow writers?
1
0 comments
Day 3 - Meditations Week
powered by
skool.com/self-actualisation-1161
A group about writing skills and self-care curated by Renzo Overee, a copywriter/content writer dedicated to bringing positive change to this world.
Suggested communities
Powered by