Still Good Advice
Dream not of Utopias
but be content if the least thing go forward,
and count the outcome of the thing at hand
as a small thing.
For who can alter another’s conviction?
Failing to get a change of conviction,
we merely get men pretending
to be persuaded
and chafing like slaves
under coercion.
—-Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Emperor AD 161 to AD 180
the last Stoic Philosopher
3 thoughts on “Still Good Advice”
We read into the writings of others to make them relevant to our own stream of consciousness. This is not a bad thing, but just the way our minds work. It is why soothsayers, gypsies, and the daily horoscopes seem to have a handle on the future; not because they are precise, but just the opposite, for their vagueness is malleable and can be molded into the the individuals’ own desires and psyche.
So it is for me this morning with the above quote from Marcus Aurelius. The words speak to me of a situation in the forefront of my thoughts. One where I have been betrayed by someone I’ve known for many years, but only because I expected more from this person and instead of remembering what went well, I focus on the current set of unfortunate circumstances. I should keep in mind the bits and pieces of progress made for community over the years, yet I feel as if I’ve failed by misreading this person’s true nature. I now know I could no more persuade him to live a life of honesty than I could walk to the moon. But that is on me, for I was the one who wanted to believe in a communal utopia (at least on small scale) and allowed my desires to color my perspective.
I hope this makes sense and doesn’t sound like some old guy rambling through the countryside talking nonsense to himself.
Makes sense well enough.
It makes all too much sense, Tobin. Perhaps reliance on wishful thinking is the deepest root of all evil; at the very least, surely it has stung us all at one time or another.