Marcus and dementia??

Book 3: I was more than a little suprised that Marcus talks about our minds losing the ability to comprehend and study as we age. He begins book three with, "life is expended day by day and the remaining balance diminishes. .". We can agree that this is a certainty, but in our culture, it is not polite conversation. Also, I see Meditations as a book written to help his son or an interested youth. I cannot picture the youth in our circle being very 'fired up' to talk about death and the possibility of a diminished mind in the years leading up to death. This seems to be Marcus' target audience; those not currently suffering from decreased mental ability but headed toward it. I find it a little refreshing to be able to consider taboo topics. Lift the veil and peer underneath.

An early conclusion:"So we must have a sense of urgency, not only for the ever closer approach of death, but also because our comprehension of the world and our ability to pay proper attention will fade before we do." Live urgently, because our days are limited and physical and mental abilities will fade.

Finally: "Do not waste the remaining part of your life in thoughts about other people, when you are not thinking with reference to some aspect of the common good. Why deprive yourself of the time for some other task? I mean, thinking about what so-and-so is doing, and why, what he is saying or contemplating or plotting, and all that line of thought, makes you stray from the close watch on your own directing mind." Remember Marcus said in chapter one that we are 'flesh, breath and the directing mind'.

The directing mind seems paramount to Marcus. He continues. "Train yourself to think only those thoughts such that in answer to the sudden question 'What is in your mind now?' you could say with immediate frankness whatever it is, this or that: and so your answer can give direct evidence that all your thoughts are straightforward, and kindly, the thoughts of a social being who has no regard for the fancies of pleasure of wider indulgence, for rivalry, malice, suspicion, or anything else that one would blush to admit was in one's mind."

That's all for now. Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment. I'm trying to put a little Rome into my life. Read with me.  ds

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