“A person who doesn’t know what the universe is, doesn’t know where they are. A person who doesn’t know their purpose in life doesn’t know who they are or what the universe is. A person who doesn’t know any one of these things doesn’t know why they are here. So what to make of people who seek or avoid the praise of those who have no knowledge of where or who they are?” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Inspired by The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Who are you? No, not “What is your name?” or “What do you do for a living?” Who are you? What is your purpose? It’s not an easy question, and can take years to answer. Until we figure it out, we are kind of wandering around aimlessly. Even worse, we seek approval of others to help define ourselves. They don’t truly know you. How could they if you don’t even know you yet? And they don’t know themselves either. So, we are train-wrecks bouncing all over the place.
Once we are able to figure out our Where, Who, What, and Why, we can put a game-plan in place to live the life we are meant to live. We will have clarity, be happy, and have an incredible inner strength. It is something that needs great thought. And don’t be influenced by external sources. We may need to sit in silence with our own thoughts. Scary! If not, and we get distracted, we may go running off, then get our hand chopped off by our father, and have our good friend be frozen in carbonite. It makes for a great movie, but we don’t need drama like that in our real lives.
