Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.23

ID: 94248164-659C-4F79-A53E-623F18FAE1E3
TRANSLATOR: Waterfield
CATEGORY: [[id:34D5954D-0135-49E8-901F-84FD3A21113D][Perspective]]
AUTHOR: Marcus Aurelius
TEXT: Meditations

Remind yourself at frequent intervals how quickly things and events are carried past and swept away. Reality is like an endlessly flowing river, its activities constantly changing, its causes variable beyond counting. It's hardly an exaggeration to say that nothing in stable, even what is close to us in time.Past time is infinite and the future a yawning gulf in which everything is swallowed up. In these circumstances, isn't it just sheer stupidity for a man to get angry, agitated, or aggrieved, as though anything lasted any amount of time and could irritate him for long?