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@ JamPower
2024-04-29 13:36:19"If the things that cause you unease or disturb your peace don't come to you, but you, in a certain way, go to them, remaining unmoved, then judgment must cease warring against them. And thus, you will no longer desire them nor flee from them henceforth." –Marco Aurelio
"In this meditation, Marco Aurelio reflects on how our emotional reactions are influenced by our desires and aversions, rather than external circumstances.
Here's an interpretation for each line, based on all the principles applied in Stoicism and his Meditations, this is in the 11th book:
"If the things that cause you unease or disturb your peace don't come to you": Marco Aurelio points out that the things that cause us emotional distress don't actively pursue us, but it's our own reactions to them that create that distress. "But rather, you, in a certain way, go to them, remaining unmoved": Suggests that it's us who, in some way, seek out those disturbing emotions, even when external circumstances remain unchanged. "Therefore judgment must cease warring against them": Here, Marco Aurelio advocates for ceasing to fight against those disturbing emotions with the power of judgment or reason. Instead of resisting them, he suggests we should accept them as part of our human experience. "And thus, you will no longer desire them nor flee from them henceforth": By freeing ourselves from the struggle against those emotions, we cease to desire or fear them in the future. By accepting them peacefully, we lose interest in them and no longer actively pursue or avoid them."
Embrace inner strength. Master reactions. Find peace. That's the true path to empowerment and serenity.