“A person who doesn’t know what the universe is, doesn’t know where they are. A person who doesn’t know their purpose in life doesn’t know who they are or what the universe is. A person who doesn’t know any one of these things doesn’t know why they are here. So what to make of people who seek or avoid the praise of those who have no knowledge of where or who they are?”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.52
Hoo boy, now that is a doozy of a quote from our old friend Marcus in today’s entry in The Daily Stoic. Jeez louise, it makes my head spin just reading it again.
I’ll try to summarize it: if you haven’t taken the time to get to know yourself, or what’s important to you, or what you want out of life, then you’re going to feel kind of lost. Seems pretty straightforward, and honestly almost obvious. You’re not going to feel like you understand the purpose of life or why you’re here, if you feel like a mystery to yourself.
But further, why do we care about the judgments of other people who “have no knowledge of where or who they are?” Here’s a hint: we shouldn’t care about what these people think of us. They haven’t figured out themselves, so how could they have some secret wisdom about how we should improve our lives? They don’t.
So, how to find yourself? That’s really the question, isn’t it? If you don’t know why you’re here, or what you are, or who you are — how do you fix that?
The good news is that it’s pretty straightforward. Take the time to get to know yourself, before it’s too late. You don’t have unlimited time on this earth, so get started learning about who you are. Put in the effort and the practice to dig deep and discover how awesome you (probably) are.
Take that precious asset of time, and invest it in yourself. It’s the best investment you can make, and it will pay dividends — not monetarily of course, but in the soul where you really need them. It’s the best use of your limited resources, and you won’t regret doing it. Start today!
