“Either the gods have power or they don’t. If they don’t, why pray? If they do, why not pray for something else instead of for things to happen or not to happen. Pray to not feel fear. Or desire, or grief. If the gods can do anything, they can surely do that for us. – But those are things the gods left up to me. Then isn’t it better to do what’s up to you – like a free man – than to be passively controlled by what isn’t, like a slave or beggar? And what makes you think the gods don’t care about what’s up to us? Start praying like this and you’ll see.
Not “some way to sleep with her” – but a way to stop wanting to.
Not “some way to get rid of him” – but a way to stop trying.
Not “some way to save my child” – but a way to lose your fear.
Redirect your prayers like that, and watch what happens.”
Meditations, Book 9, 40 – Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius was the Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD and the book Meditations includes his personal reflections on Stoic philosophy. I came across the passage above a few years ago and I somehow had the foresight to highlight it, even though I’m sure I didn’t fully grasp its meaning at the time.
On Day 27 – Money, Cars, Fame, we talked about goal writing in the context of self-actualization. There are only a few of us that have written goals, most of which are wishes for external things we hope will happen or material possessions we hope to acquire. Marcus Aurelius, in the passage above, gives us yet another reminder that perhaps goal setting, or in this case prayer, should be focused from the inside-out instead of the other way around. In Autobiography of a Yogi, which I am reading now, Paramahansa Yogananda writes, “How quickly we weary of earthly pleasures! Desire for material things is endless; man is never satisfied completely, and pursues one goal after another.” So why do we keep writing our goals this way?
If we really stop and think about it, don’t we ask for these material things because of how they will make us feel? And if it’s the feeling we are after, why don’t we just cut to the chase? Marcus Aurelius suggests that we could set goals to stop wanting, stop trying so hard and to lose our fears. If we were to really do these things, wouldn’t we truly have to change our beliefs first? What if we started writing goals to feel peace, joy and enlightenment? Is this not what spirituality really means? Is this not the one teaching?
Photo by Cameron Cress on Unsplash
Another great piece. Interestingly, in Zen, desiring to stop wanting is in itself desiring. In other words, it seems to not be about ceasing to desire; rather, it seems to be about our relationship with desiring or wanting. Our great David Hawkins helped us understand that in a succinct yet clear way, in his class, “Power Vs Force.”
Thank you so much for sharing your gift with the world.