Not the Way of Marcus Aurelius
We have a stoic anxiety with death
today (especially since the pandemic)
that would dismay the Stoic philosopher
emperor, keeping at bay the stark reality
of our inevitable passing, as if not thinking
about death would stave it; but the days
quickly sink into each other, each more
oppressive than the other, piling on the blind
conceit of our mortality, and we lose all
perspective, and panic; certainly not the
way of Marcus Aurelius, who taught
himself to face death with the equanimity
of a man who had done so countless times
in the past and who grew in wisdom,
patience, and resilience.
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