Recently I’ve had a certain passage from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations circulating around in my mind. As with other thoughts that float around in my head, I thought I’d record it here on my blog. I think it’s worth sharing too.
Do not imagine that, if something is hard for you to achieve, it is therefore impossible for any man: but rather consider anything that is humanly possible and appropriate to lie within your own reach too.
(Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 6, Chapter 19)
Perhaps a good reminder in these uncertain and ever-changing times.
Perhaps, also, a good reminder for me as I continue to try to learn how to play the piano!
I wonder what prompted Marcus Aurelius to record this particular meditation. I wonder what could have possibly put self-doubt in the mind of a Roman emperor; or maybe it was just pre-emptive, anticipating the mind’s natural tendency to recoil from difficult and laborious endeavours.
Anyway, I don’t think the passage needs much more explanation, elaboration or deconstruction. Just something to remember in hard times.
pistachio conspiracy #63 
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