Reflections with Purpose

I continue to read in Book 2 items 1-5. Consider these exerpts; I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, unsocial. . . I cannot be harmed by any of them, as none will infect me with their wrong. . . beings are made up flesh, breath and the directing mind. . . do not let this directing mind of yours be enslaved any longer - not more jerking to the strings of selfish impulse, no more disquiet at your present or suspicion of your future fate. . . The works of the gods are full of providence. . . so thirst in true grace and heartfelt gratitude to the gods. . . as a Roman and a man, every hour give vigorous attention, to the performance of the task in hand with precise analysis, with unaffected dignity, with human sympathy, with dispassionate justice - and to vacating your mind from all its other thoughts. Reflect: These thoughts are very similar to central Christian ideas. Rome was certainly not a Christian haven in the 2nd century. Could it

Book 2 no. 1 "Say to yourself first thing in the morning: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, unsocial. All this has afflicted them through their ignorance of true good and evil. But I have seen that the nature of good is what is right, and the nature of evil what is wrong; and I have reflected that the nature of the offender himself is akin to my own - not a kinship of blood or seed, but a sharing in the same mind, the same fragment of divinity. Therefore I cannot be harmed by any of them, as none will infect me with their wrong. Nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him. We were born for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth. So to work in opposition to one another is against nature: and anger or rejection is opposition." This is the entire '1' of Book 2 of Meditations. I find this to be very manly. I do not exclude women women here. It seems to take a

Marcus Aurelius, born in 121 a.d., was a Roman Emperor and  wrote  Meditations as a sort of lesson book. He recorded things that he learned from his mother, father, grandfather and others. It's the kind of book that you would give to a son. A sort of advice book. Sadly his only surviving son was the worthless Commodus. This book has been a treasure over the centuries. "From my grandfather Verus: decency and a mild temper. From what they say and what I can remember of my natural father: integrity and manliness. From my mother: piety, generosity, the avoidance of wrongdoing and even the thought of it; also simplicity of living, well clear of the habits of the rich."

Returned from 4th of July celebration with family. The community where my in-laws live put on a small parade like the ones I was used to growing up with. Granted this was way smaller, even when considering that I grew up in a town with no stop light. Still, rural America is patriotic. We sing songs about America. We like seeing the flag. We don't need to pay people for this behavior. The 4th is a good reminder of who we are. Hope you had a great 4th of July! ds

Let's talk about reading. I got turned on to reading in 9th grade. I read the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. He expressed the story in such a vivid way, I was drawn into the story. Such a command of the English language. Then I read The Fellowship of the Ring. Unbelievably it was even better. I was hooked. Since then I have read books about the Founders of this Country. What started as a quest for knowledge, turned into inspiration. When I read a biography about George Washington, I was personally touched and inspired by a noble man. I walked away from the book thinking, no wonder they called him the Father of our country! Many books later, my thought for today is that I owe a debt of gratitude to JRR Tolkien. Thank you Mr. Tolkien.  Affectionately, ds