2 - Meditations

In my ongoing quest to fill the void of sporting activity that graduate life tends to entail, I decided, almost a year ago, to devote some of my energy to the gym. Three evenings and one morning each week, I get to wander around in silence counting reps in my head and generally relieving the stresses of the contemporary working day. At the same time, I am exposed to terrestrial television's early-evening line up of quiz shows - Pointless, The Chase and Eggheads, which allows me to exercise both mind and body. Or something.

As part of this pursuit I have been known, occasionally, to browse the various fitness forums offered up by the internet. One day, in among all the insecurity, in-jokes and odd pieces of actual good advice, I came across a thread dedicated to so-called "mental gains" - specifically, recommended reading for the man or woman with the goal of physical perfection. Suggestions ranged from the Bible to the rather out-there teachings of "iceman" Wim Hof. But by far one of the most popular works, and one that caught my eye, was the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

Marcus Aurelius was emperor of Rome from 161-180 AD, although for the first eight years he shared power with Lucius Verus. Meditations was written in Greek over the last ten years of his reign, and commits to paper (papyrus? wax?) his stoic world view as applied to the full spectrum of the human experience.

I had been assured prior to reading that this book would change my life, along with my fundamental understanding of the world around me, my role within it and my duties towards it. So it would be safe to say that expectations were, ultimately, set impossibly high. Not to say that there aren't some brilliant words of wisdom to be found. Marcus Aurelius' attitude to the world of work resonated in particular:

"What art and profession soever thou hast learned, endeavour to affect it, and comfort thyself in it; and pass the remainder of thy life as one who from his whole heart commits himself and whatsoever belongs unto him, unto the gods."

Did the Romans even have jobs in the modern sense? Probably not, and yet these words would not be out of place at a careers talk in the present day. Equally, his advice on the natural world and mankind's responsibilities in that area still hold up.

But ultimately my main issue with the writing was that it was just too... earnest. Following this philosophy would entail assessing every single action of your life, determining whether it serves a higher purpose, and eliminating any aspects that do not. It's a mindset I absolutely apply to lifting weights, but I can't really see it taking root elsewhere. Combine that with an 18th century translation that hadn't bothered to explain any ancient Greek terms that are untranslatable and Meditations became something of a burden to read. Perhaps that was the point: the teaching of stoicism is, essentially, to suck it up and get on with life. But the world would be a much more boring place if that was all anyone did.

2/5

I've also decided that this blog should stay true to its roots, so each book will be paired with a musical counterpoint. I feel like Aurelius would have loved Gesaffelstein's Pursuit, for all its clinical efficiency. Good workout music too.