Speaker 1: I ever wish you could just like sit down have
Speaker 1: a chat with someone who's really mastered life.
Speaker 2: Yeah, someone who's like figured it all out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, across like time and empires even right, imagine well
Speaker 1: today we're kind of doing that. We're pulling up a
Speaker 1: chair with Marcus.
Speaker 2: Aurelius, Roman emperor, philosopher all around fascinating.
Speaker 1: And we're not just getting like the highlight reel.
Speaker 2: You know, No, no, no, this is like getting a
Speaker 2: peek into the personal journal of a guy who's running
Speaker 2: an empire, right, grappling with self doubt one minute and
Speaker 2: then like dispensing wisdom the next.
Speaker 1: That's incredible.
Speaker 2: And that's his book Meditation, So not.
Speaker 1: Your typical self help best selfing.
Speaker 2: No, more like raw and unfiltered thoughts.
Speaker 1: And what's amazing is how like relevant his ideas still are,
Speaker 1: absolutely especially for anyone who's feeling you know, just overwhelmed
Speaker 1: in are always on world totally.
Speaker 2: Take his thoughts on mindfulness for example, right, you might think, okay,
Speaker 2: I meditate more, got it? Yeah, but Aurelius goes like
Speaker 2: a step further. He's talking about cultivating this observer, someone
Speaker 2: who watches your thoughts to help you make better choices.
Speaker 2: It's like he's saying, you are not your thoughts. You
Speaker 2: get to choose which ones actually matter.
Speaker 1: That's huge, It is huge.
Speaker 2: It's like, instead of just being swept away by that
Speaker 2: like I'm so stressed current, we can actually pause yes
Speaker 2: and aside like is this thought helping me or not?
Speaker 1: Exactly? And he doesn't just like drop this wisdom and
Speaker 1: peace out. He gives us a framework for making those
Speaker 1: choices based on something he calls virtue.
Speaker 2: Now when I hear virtue, I kind of think like
Speaker 2: following all the rules. Yeah, but it really seems to
Speaker 2: be talking about something way deeper.
Speaker 1: You're right on the money. Yeah, he's talking about building
Speaker 1: this strong inner compass that's guided by wisdom, justice, courage,
Speaker 1: these things, and they're not just like nice to haz
Speaker 1: for realius, they're the source of true strength.
Speaker 2: So it's less about checking off good deeds and more
Speaker 2: about just building that unshakable inner foundation.
Speaker 1: Yes, think about it. If your sense of self worth
Speaker 1: comes from you know, external achievements, what happens when you
Speaker 1: face a setback, But.
Speaker 2: With a strong inner compass, you're way better equipped to
Speaker 2: handle whatever comes your way.
Speaker 1: Okay, that makes a ton of sense. But how do
Speaker 1: we actually live by these virtues? Yeah, it feels very
Speaker 1: easy to say be courageous, but then that work deadline
Speaker 1: is looming, right, and.
Speaker 2: You're just bombarded with notifications and the world feels like
Speaker 2: it's spinning faster and faster. Totally, Aurelius would say, even
Speaker 2: in those moments, we have a choice, okay, and he
Speaker 2: gives us this incredibly simple but profound guidance. He says,
Speaker 2: if it is not right, do not do it. If
Speaker 2: it is not true, do not say it.
Speaker 1: Whoa, It's almost too simple, right, yet I can see
Speaker 1: how living by that one principle could change everything.
Speaker 2: Right. It's about aligning your actions with your values, no
Speaker 2: matter how small the decision. It's about knowing your why
Speaker 2: for doing something.
Speaker 1: Which for really as seems tied to his idea of
Speaker 1: living a virtuous life exactly.
Speaker 2: And this wasn't some abstract philosophy for him. This was
Speaker 2: a guy running an empire, facing wars, plagues, betrayal, Oh yeah,
Speaker 2: talk about.
Speaker 1: Pressure, No kidding. Okay, so he's not just talking the
Speaker 1: talk from some ivory tower. But do he actually walk
Speaker 1: the walk?
Speaker 2: You bet? He wasn't some stoic robot, right, he was human.
Speaker 2: He even had mornings where getting out of bed was
Speaker 2: a struggle.
Speaker 1: Really, but he'd.
Speaker 2: Remind himself, what do I have to complain of if
Speaker 2: I'm going to do what I was born for?
Speaker 1: I love that?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: Even emperors have those big Monday moments.
Speaker 2: They do, we all do.
Speaker 1: It makes his advice so much more relatable. Yes, he
Speaker 1: found the strength to get up and rule an empire. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so we can handle that overflowing inbox. Yeah, it comes
Speaker 1: down to.
Speaker 2: Knowing our purpose right exactly. And Aurelius might say that
Speaker 2: instead of searching for one grand purpose, it's about finding
Speaker 2: meaning in the everyday. He'd probably ask, what are the
Speaker 2: roles you're already playing, friend, parent, student, artist, whatever it is,
Speaker 2: and how can you bring those virtues to life in
Speaker 2: each of those roles?
Speaker 1: It's like finding purpose in the present moment instead of
Speaker 1: waiting for it to just magically appear. But how does
Speaker 1: knowing our purpose, even those everyday ones, actually make us stronger?
Speaker 2: Imagine this, You're facing a challenge, okay, big or small, right,
Speaker 2: and instead of getting swept up in the stress of
Speaker 2: it all, you remember your why. Okay, that sense of
Speaker 2: purpose where you're just talking about having this grounding force
Speaker 2: reminding you this difficulty. It's just one chapter and a
Speaker 2: much larger story.
Speaker 1: So instead of getting lost in the weeds of like
Speaker 1: this sucks, my life is over, we could tap into
Speaker 1: that bigger picture, thinking absolutely, that's powerful.
Speaker 2: It is. And that's not to say we should pretend
Speaker 2: like everything sunshine and rainbows or really is understood that
Speaker 2: life throws curveballs, for sure. He just believed that we
Speaker 2: have a choice in how we respond.
Speaker 1: It's about choosing how we react, yes, not letting our
Speaker 1: emotions run the show exactly. But that's easier said than done, right.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, our brains seem hardwired to just like freak
Speaker 1: out sometimes.
Speaker 2: You're telling me. Even Relius, the emperor with like legions
Speaker 2: at his command, had moments of self doubt, yeah, frustration,
Speaker 2: but he developed this incredible ability to observe those thoughts
Speaker 2: and emotions without judgment, like having an.
Speaker 1: Inner therapist, just like giving us a reality check exactly.
Speaker 2: And that's where mindfulness comes in. Okay, remember that inner
Speaker 2: observer we talked about. Arelius would say, when you feel
Speaker 2: those stressful thoughts bubbling up, hit pause, ok, take a breath,
Speaker 2: don't try to suppress the feeling, but create some space
Speaker 2: between the feeling and your reaction to it.
Speaker 1: So it's like hitting the pause buttons yes on that
Speaker 1: inner monologue that's already like spiraling into this is a
Speaker 1: disaster territory.
Speaker 2: He nailed it, And in that pause, we can choose
Speaker 2: a more thoughtful response. And he'd even suggest, what if
Speaker 2: we practice this beforehand. Imagine a challenging situation that tends
Speaker 2: to trip you up, like that work deadline right now.
Speaker 2: Visualize yourself staying calm, maybe focusing on your breath, right,
Speaker 2: reminding yourself of your purpose.
Speaker 1: So we're essentially training our brains, yes, to respond differently.
Speaker 2: Yes. By practicing these responses, okay, we're less likely to
Speaker 2: get hijacked by stress when it inevitably pops up.
Speaker 1: That's so interesting. Reminds me of athletes visualizing their performance
Speaker 1: before a big.
Speaker 2: Game, exactly. Mental rehearsal is a powerful tool. Wow, And
Speaker 2: it's something that really is really emphasized. The more we
Speaker 2: practice mindfulness virtue in our daily lives, the stronger those
Speaker 2: muscles become, making us better equipped to handle life's curveballs.
Speaker 1: It makes sense. Yeah, the more we work those mental
Speaker 1: and emotional muscles, the stronger they become. Absolutely, speaking of strength,
Speaker 1: Areally has faced some serious challenges as emperors. He did
Speaker 1: war's plagues, internal strife, Oh yeah. Did he always handle
Speaker 1: these things with grace and resilience?
Speaker 2: You know, That's what's so fascinating about him. He walked
Speaker 2: the walk. Did he have moments of doubt, frustration, even anger? Absolutely,
Speaker 2: but he never let those emotions control him. He recognized them,
Speaker 2: observed them, and chose his response.
Speaker 1: That's such a powerful distinction. It is so it's not
Speaker 1: about suppressing our emotions, but about choosing how we respond
Speaker 1: to them.
Speaker 2: Exactly. Wow, and for a realius. A huge part of
Speaker 2: choosing the right response came back to that sense of
Speaker 2: purpose we talked about earlier. Remember that quote about getting
Speaker 2: out of bed on those tough mornings.
Speaker 1: What do I have to complain of if I'm going
Speaker 1: to do what I was born for? Yes, it's one
Speaker 1: of my favorites for meditations.
Speaker 2: Mind too, it's just so good. It's such a powerful
Speaker 2: reminder that even when we don't feel like it, even
Speaker 2: when we'd rather just stay under the covers, having that
Speaker 2: sense of purpose those roles were meant to play in
Speaker 2: the world right can be the very thing that gets
Speaker 2: us move in So.
Speaker 1: It's like having that internal compasses guiding us back to
Speaker 1: our Why I love that even when the seas are rough,
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 2: I love that analogy. And you know, speaking of rough seas,
Speaker 2: Aurelius has some brilliant insights on how to navigate those
Speaker 2: inevitable obstacles and even turn them into opportunities, because, let's
Speaker 2: be real. Life is full of challenges.
Speaker 1: You're preaching to the choir, but it's all about how
Speaker 1: we view those challenges, right, you got, So, how do
Speaker 1: we actually like find the opportunity within the obstacle. It's
Speaker 1: easy to just say that, right, but like when you're
Speaker 1: in it, when you're facing that step back, it doesn't
Speaker 1: always feel like there's a silver lining.
Speaker 2: You're right. It's not about putting on those rose colored
Speaker 2: glasses and pretending like everything's perfect. It's about shifting our perspective.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: I really is believed that the universe is interconnected, Okay,
Speaker 2: that everything happens as part of this larger order.
Speaker 1: So even those bad things, the obstacles, they're all parts
Speaker 1: to this bigger.
Speaker 2: Picture precisely, and that realization for him was both humbling
Speaker 2: and empowering Okay, humbling because it reminded him that he
Speaker 2: wasn't in control of everything, and empowering because it allowed
Speaker 2: him to accept the things he couldn't change with more
Speaker 2: grace and equanimity.
Speaker 1: It's like that serenity prayer. Yes, grant me the serenity
Speaker 1: to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to
Speaker 1: change the things I can, and the wisdom to know.
Speaker 2: The difference exactly. And that wisdom, that ability to discern
Speaker 2: between what we can and cannot control. Yeah, that's crucial
Speaker 2: for resilience. Okay, when we're focused on what's outside of
Speaker 2: our control, we just set ourselves up for frustration and anxiety.
Speaker 1: It's like trying to control the weather. Right, you can
Speaker 1: complain about it all day long, but it's not going
Speaker 1: to change a thing. Right.
Speaker 2: Aurelius would probably say, why waste your precious energy on
Speaker 2: the things that you can't change. Instead, focus on what
Speaker 2: you can influence your thoughts, your actions, your responses.
Speaker 1: That's a much more empowering way to look at it.
Speaker 1: It is. So it's about accepting what we can change,
Speaker 1: focusing on what we can, and approaching those challenges with
Speaker 1: the virtues we talked about earlier. Yeah, wisdom, justice, courage,
Speaker 1: you got it.
Speaker 2: It's about showing up. Is the best version of ourselves
Speaker 2: even amidst the chaos, and that I think is the
Speaker 2: ultimate measure of strength, not avoiding those challenges, but meeting
Speaker 2: them head on right with clarity, purpose, and resilience.
Speaker 1: This entire deep dive has been incredibly insightful. It has
Speaker 1: I feel like I've gained so much from Realis's wisdom.
Speaker 2: Me too.
Speaker 1: It's amazing how relevant his writings still are today.
Speaker 2: I agree. It's a testament to the timelessness of his ideas.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: These are universal human experiences. We're talking about joy and sorrow,
Speaker 2: challenge and triumph. Yeah, but really it just gives us
Speaker 2: a framework for navigating them with more grace and wisdom.
Speaker 1: He really does.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So, as we wrap up this deep dive into the
Speaker 1: mind of Marcus Aurelius, YEA, what's like one key takeaway
Speaker 1: you hope our listeners will carry with them.
Speaker 2: I think the biggest take away is that true strength
Speaker 2: it isn't about physical power, okay, or external validation. It's
Speaker 2: about cultivating that inner resilience, that unshakable core that allows
Speaker 2: us to face whatever life throws our way. With courage, wisdom,
Speaker 2: and grace, and that's something we all have the power
Speaker 2: to develop, no matter our circumstances.
Speaker 1: It's about tapping into that inner emperor, just like Marcus
Speaker 1: Aurelius did exactly so to our listeners, we encourage you
Speaker 1: to pick up meditations explore these ideas for yourself.
Speaker 2: It's a great book.
Speaker 1: You might be surprised at how much this ancient emperor's
Speaker 1: wisdom can speak to your modern life. Absolutely remember true
Speaker 1: strength lies within