“Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that’s in your power. Don’t look around to see if people will know about it. Don’t await perfection of Plato’s Republic, but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as a small thing.”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.29.(4)
Accept the world as it currently is, and start from there and take action. That’s the wisdom that Marcus Aurelius imparts in his quote in today’s chapter of The Daily Stoic.
This doesn’t mean that we can’t try to change the world. But we must accept the current reality first, in order to take that first step.
We can’t get caught up in waiting for the right conditions or the right situation, in order to get going. We have to “get right to it” as Aurelius says. We must work within the space that the world affords us — and just get started.
Take whatever small step you can today, and don’t place too much weight on the result. The result is not the point. Starting from where the world is, and taking imperfect action now, is the point.
