The Wisdom of Marcus Aurelius

“Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man’s two hands, feet or eyelids, or the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature’s law – and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Does a fine blade sharpen without the presence of a dull stone? Does a robust fire burn without first being ignited by a spark? Badness and negativity may not be desirable in our lives. They may cause us doubt. They may cause us to lose motivation in life. They may cause us to lose motivation toward our passions. They may even cause us to question our own meaning and purpose in life. But does good ever exist without the presence of darkness? How would we be able to measure goodness if not for badness?

Negative people are not generally out to hurt others but do so out of a lack of goodness and intelligence; an inability to see, in the moment, what is right and wrong. Rarely does wickedness truly pop up as a direct assault on another. When it does, if not completely obvious, it manifests in the same way as generally negative people. And if the attacks are personal, should we still take it personally? Does a person spread negativity toward another if not for their own internal negativity?

Good and bad alike have the power of influence. Good people, through their virtue and empathy, involuntarily and often unknowingly spread love to others. Good people carry a light with them and wherever they go, whoever they are with, their light spreads. Their laughter is contagious and causes others to laugh. Their charity causes others to think about their own sense of giving. And being on a mission of self-improvement instills a provoking need for self-change in those intelligent enough to see it. Good people are powered by an aura because the world as they know it changes from dark to light around them.

Bad people have a similar effect. Others see their behavior for its typical darkness. The self-doubt they carry rubs off on others. Their attacks, although not personal, cause others to feel shame and despair. Everywhere they go, they carry their darkness and it too rubs off on others.

But what happens when goodness meets darkness? Goodness wins. Love always prevails. Love prevails because people, to varying degrees, want to be good. They want success in their lives. They want to be happy. For some, despair may interfere and obstruct that mission. For others, despair does not obstruct but sharpens. On a sunny day, what is noticed? The small shadows of the world or the overall feeling of warmth and light. In darkness too, what is noticed but not the small rays of light beaming from the corners of the world. Darkness may be all around us at times, but it is not the most powerful force. It may be an enveloping force, if allowed, but it cannot stand firm in the light. Light prevails.

Meditate on the fact that you are good, and your goodness affects others in ways that you could hardly imagine. Wherever you go, people are driven to be better; by your presence, your intelligence, and your kindness. Now think of the ill, the desperate, and the way they carry themselves. They do not make personal attacks, instead, they create an aura of darkness. Wherever they go, awkwardness, self-doubt and despair follow with them. They create negativity in others with their presence and that in turn makes them more negative. Thus, it follows, that you should ask yourself this question: should you feel self-doubt and despair at their presence? Or, as the light, should it not follow that your feelings should turn to empathy and pity towards those not intelligent enough to see this?