Marc Aurel:

If something in the exterior world makes you discontent, then it is not that object which troubles you, but rather your judgement of it; yet to blot out this judgement instantly is within your power. And if your dissatisfaction is based on the condition of your soul, who can prohibit you from correcting your views? Likewise, if you are discontent because you are not doing what seems reasonable to you, why not be active rather than discontent? "But something stronger than me is obstructing me." Still, do not be discontent; for the cause for your inaction is not within you. "But life has no meaning for me if this is not done." Well then, end your life, as calm as if you had succeeded; but don't forget to forgive your adversaries.

Words that strike me in their simplicity and depth every time I read them, but that's Marc Aurel for ya :)

Who is Marc Aurel? I found one link making it seem that "Marc Aurel" was actually "Marcus Aurelius" and had a citation referencing Meditations. But google could not find that quote in any translation for Meditations. The "that's Marc Aurel for ya" makes it seem that he is a well known writer/thinker so maybe I am way off base thinking its Marcus Aurelius.

It's an alternative spelling in German, sorry for the confusion.

"Google could not find that quote in any translation for Meditations"

That's because I translated it into English from a German translation of Meditations ^^

here's the same thing without that extra step:

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_aurelius_bkvii...

If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine own conceit and opinion concerning the thing: which thou mayest rid thyself of, when thou wilt. But if it be somewhat that is amiss in thine own disposition, that doth grieve thee, mayest thou not rectify thy moral tenets and opinions. But if it grieve thee, that thou doest not perform that which seemeth unto thee right and just, why doest not thou choose rather to perform it than to grieve? But somewhat that is stronger than thyself doth hinder thee. Let it not grieve thee then, if it be not thy fault that the thing is not performed. 'Yea but it is a thing of that nature, as that thy life is not worth the while, except it may be performed.' If it be so, upon condition that thou be kindly and lovingly disposed towards all men, thou mayest be gone. For even then, as much as at any time, art thou in a very good estate of performance, when thou doest die in charity with those, that are an obstacle unto thy performance.

You know what, I think I like my version more :P

Thank you for your translation -- the project of personal translations of great words is one of my favourites, despite the risks of misrepresenting. It is not enough to be accurate, one should seek also to be a poet.

Thank you for the education. Is dropping the ius/us (I forget the term high school latin was a long time ago) a common way of translating roman names to german?

It seems to be common in English too. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_poetry

Ovid, Virgil, Horace...

To be perfectly honest I don't know.. I had latin as well, but I gleefully forgot most of it :)

> The "that's Marc Aurel for ya" makes it seem that he is a well known writer/thinker so maybe I am way off base thinking its Marcus Aurelius.

Why would you think that you're off base? From what I gather Marcus Aurelius is a well known* thinker/writer - just ordered a copy of Mediations for myself after reading this post and comments.

* edit

Because I never heard anyone refer to him as Marc Aurel in any of my philosophy classes and could not find any references to "marc aurel" on the internet. The familiarity of the statement made it seem like "marc aurel" was a household name. I also could not find the sentence in any copy of Meditations I found on the internet.

Fyi: you can grab a copy of Meditations from a number of classics sites on the internet:

http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html

"could not find any references to "marc aurel" on the internet."

?

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22marc+aurel%22

"Mark Aurel, auch Marc Aurel oder Marcus Aurelius"

Not in the first three pages for me.

Ah, yeah. I suppose I'm taking a leap of faith in assuming that they are one in the same and that the Marcus to Marc was just bad translation.

Thanks for the link, might be good for some light reading until I get the physical copy.

I heard recently that there is a new translation which is rather good for the modern reader. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Emperors-Handbook-Translation-Medi...) I think I heard about it on the excellent "History of Philosophy: Without Any Gaps" podcast, but I'm not certain of that. It can seem silly to spend money when you can get the ideas for free, on the other hand, the style of translation can easily get in the way with ancient writers and old translations. I've quit reading a couple of dry translations of the Meditations when they would put me to sleep rather too fast during bed-time reading. I've got the new one on my Xmas wishlist and plan to buy it in the new year if someone doesn't get it for me.

So maybe check it out if you find the old versions slow going.

Ah, this is the exact copy I ordered, this is good to know. Personally, I prefer to spend a small sum to own a physical copy of the book - I'm a bit old fashioned in that way.

I'm similarly old fashioned, only now I'm moving house again, and regretting the half a tonne of books I'll have to lug around.

This is the main philosophy of the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita which says :

"Your right is only to work, and never to its fruits. Don't be motivated by the fruits of work. Nor should you be attached to inaction."

Agreed. The idea is to act as if the outcome of what you were working on was the most important thing in the world to you, but to place no value on the actual outcome itself.

A similar principle in poker (which has many lessons for life in general) is that as long as you keep making the correct decisions, in the long run you will win. If you invest emotionally in the prize you will likely make the wrong decision.

> A similar principle in poker (which has many lessons for life in general) is that as long as you keep making the correct decisions, in the long run you will win. If you invest emotionally in the prize you will likely make the wrong decision.

Excellent point. A bad outcome realized through a correct decision making process is painful, but is still a "better" result than a good outcome realized through a flawed decision making process. When poker players go "on tilt" they start breaking their process and it shows in their long run results.

There are few places where this is more on display than in high stakes poker tournaments.

So, I should work to be a great spouse (say), but not care whether I actually achieve that outcome?

Why not work to achieve things of value precisely because they are of value to you?

Well, it's a paradox.

If you are fixated on the goal, rather than being present performing the actions that will get you to the goal, you are actually less likely to reach the goal successfully. Thinking about the goal obsessively is counterproductive.

Maybe "detach from the outcome" is a better word. Anchor your happiness and well-being on performing the actions within your control that you believe will take you to that outcome, and do not make that happiness and well-being conditional on reaching that outcome.

Because you won't always achieve them. If you value the end result, it will be all the more disappointing if you fail to achieve it.

I think this can be put as "enjoy the process".

"Skillful attachment", what a wonderful expression! Doesn't seem that widespread, google-wise, but it definitely goes in my decidedly not very Buddhistic list of rules to live by.