"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
"Or is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of those applauding hands. The people who praise us; how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region it takes place. The whole earth a point in space - and most of it uninhabited."
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Source: Marcus Aurelius (2002). “Meditations: A New Translation”, p.38, Modern Library
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"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
"Think of all the years passed by in which you said to yourself "I'll do it tomorrow," and how the gods have again and again granted you periods of grace of which you have not availed yourself. It is time to realize that you are a member of the Universe, that you are born of Nature itself, and to know that a limit has been set to your time. Use every moment wisely, to perceive your inner refulgence, or 'twill be gone and nevermore within your reach."
"It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own."
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