“You could enjoy this very moment all the things you are praying to reach by taking the long way around — if you'd stop depriving yourself of them.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.1
June 23, 2021 7:00 AM
What are we ultimately working for? Prosperity? Fame? Prestige?
The authors point out we would serve ourselves well to ask ... Why do we want what we want and what will we gain from it?
The most common answer is likely we desire autonomy and or happiness and or admiration. Do we need to observe the long-drawn-out route we have chosen? Not as a Stoic.
Conclusion
We have freedom, it is within our choices.
We can be happy if we embrace happiness.
We can be respected if we continue to choose wisely.
The long way around is not necessary if we look at what we want objectively.