MARCUS AURELIUS

Meditations: How to be a Man with Marcus Aurelius

He’s all about Stoicism and I dig it

I was at a local café, I go here a lot and have been going since I graduated from Naropa in 2001. The café is great for us writers and intellectuals and is chock full of interesting people and college students reading books and typing on laptops and drinking Japanese styled pots and tea cups and regular cups of coffee.

They also have a bookstore next door where they sell books half price. They always have great coffee table art books and a selection of great fiction writers of literature. There’s a Jack Kerouac poster framed on the wall and Japanese styled tea cups for sale next to a lone pencil sharpener that I have not seen used lately.

Next door is a bookstore where they have a deep respect of classic literature, artbooks and even independent authors some that still staple books together like they just visited a Kinkos from years ago and using a copy machine.

Outside is a cart full of dollar books, damaged and unwanted by the The Trident Café and Book Store on Pearl St. in Boulder, Colorado.

This place attracts us all as we walk down Pearl St. towards the foot of the Mountains.

I once asked the general manager about it and he said that charging 3 dollars was too much so they stuck with one dollar and apparently they make a good amount of money doing it.

I found a beat up Marcus Aurelius put out by Penguin and had to have it!

I had seen Marcus on the Facebook and YouTube in memes and videos where someone made it into audio so you could see all his quotes.

I coveted the book and still carry it around in my backpack when I go out to the café.

I pull it out and read the quotes one by one, skimming around. Now, I underline them one I see something I don’t want to forget.

One on death blew me away

I feel every man should read this.

The knowledge here is unknown in our current environment of NPCS, twitch gamers and lonely YouTube influencers with only a phone or laptop full of avatars as their friends.

This book is about stoicism a philosophy way before Christianity

In fact Christianity is only mentioned like twice in the book

Did you know this book was never meant to be published? This manuscript is just Marcus’ thoughts.

His thoughts are heavy and serious for several reasons

He was second to the Emperor when he was young and then he become an Emperor. He fought battles and saw people die.

Marcus Aurelius should be read the same way we value the wisdom in books from our founding fathers like Ben Franklin.

A lot of Greek stoics are literally Greek to me. I’ve never been a fan of reading Plato or Socrates, but the way this Marcus Aurelius book is published it’s just like watching YouTube videos or Memes. The quotes are separated between single spaces lines and numbered. It’s called Meditations and it was never meant to be published because it is Marcus’ personal thoughts.

Worth buying and reading yourself.

Have you read Marcus Aurelius?

Leave comments and let us know what you think about him!