True Wealth Lies in Giving
After reading one of my favorite newsletters (shoutout to the Daily Stoic), I felt inspired to write this, somewhere between a response and an opinion. Not only that, but this topic has real potential, so I felt obligated to spread the word even more.
In his memoir Meditations, Marcus Aurelius stresses the value of possessing a good character. Just read a few excerpts for yourself:
“…to feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.”
“Don’t waste your time worrying about other people- unless it affects the common good.” and “…to care for all human beings is part of being human.”
“I’ll treat them [another human being] with… kindness and with justice.”
“And then you might see what the life of a good man is like- someone who is… satisfied with being just and kind himself.”
“Practice the virtues you can show: honesty, gravity, endurance, austerity, resignation, abstinence, patience, sincerity, moderation, seriousness, high-mindedness.”
These are just a few gems in this treasure of a book. Clearly, Marcus was a simple man; to him, the good was the most basic and dignified virtues. His life philosophy could essentially be summarized as act with virtue in regards to yourself and to others.
Considering that he was the most powerful man in the known world at the time as well as as incredibly wealthy, it’s refreshing to see that he kept values as the guide for his life, and not fame nor power nor money. In fact, to Marcus, wealth was not measured by coin; it was measured by goodness. In other words, wealth is not how much you have, it’s how much you can give. If it’s money, good. If it’s a place to sleep, good. Even if it’s just kindness, then good. Wealth has been twisted to mean how much you can have for yourself when it should be the complete opposite.
To go one step further, Marcus said that one should not expect anything in return (Meditations 5.6). Do good for the sake of doing good. The sun shines and provides warmth without hopes of reciprocation. The same goes for the fruits that grow and the rivers that flow. True goodness needs no other good in order to exist. As long as it comes from you, that’s all that can be asked of you.
So life exists to do good and make a positive difference. In the same way money would fund these endeavors, so too do virtues.
So the question remains: will you choose to be wealthy today? What steps will you take to become richer in your character today?
Thanks for reading,
Alan
*all quotations are extracted from Gregory Hays’s translation of Meditations.
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Additional Resources
If you’re interested in reading Meditations for yourself (which I hiiiiighly recommend), I’ve created a book list page where you can follow the link to purchase it. (small note: the Amazon link is an affiliate one, which means I receive a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you)
The Daily Stoic website, where you can read about the philosophy and sign up for their newsletter. Not sponsored, I just really love it!
In case you can’t get enough of Marcus Aurelius quotes, this article shares 22 more.
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“No one has ever become poor by giving.” -Anne Frank
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