Living Well Journal Reflection 3

GNED 1202-003: Texts and Ideas

David Ohreen

Desiree La Noire

October 23, 2023

 The Pursuit of Inner Joy: Unpacking Marcus Aurelius’ Message in 3.4

This passage touches on the essence of “happiness”, but equivalently touches

on many aspects touched in class such as stoicism, eudamonic happiness, and the

city/state and soul comparison. In this meditation by Marcus Aurelius, he advises

individuals against wasting time worrying about other people (Hays. n.d.), unless it

affects the common good. What I believe he means by this, is that our concerns about

others can hinder our ability to do anything useful. As we have touched on in class, this

can also relate back to eudamonic happiness which emphasizes living a virtuous life in

order to fulfil well-being or “happiness” (Ohreen, 2023).

As I have learned, Marcus Aurelius was a stoic philosopher who often wrote

informing about stoicism and stoic principles. In this particular meditation, I feel he is

relating to the stoic principle which preaches a resignation (apathea) to fate (Ohreen,

2023). He is referencing the need to resign from all disturbing emotions caused by

others so we can achieve a sense of inner peace and well being. By doing so, we can

retain our happiness and virtue as Aurelius teaches.

To seal this passage on “happiness”, Aurelius draws on the parallels between the

well-being of an individual and the city/state. In this passage I believe he is implying that

excessive worry about others can disrupt our own inner harmony, just as discourse

within a city can disrupt its own common good. As I have learned, both the state and

individuals must strive for order and purpose in order to fulfill harmony and a state of

well being (Ohreen, 2023).

The principles highlighted in Aurelius’ passage taught me many things about how

I can live my life in order to obtain harmony and well being. Primarily, referring back to
stoic principles this passage taught me to priortize virtue, this way I will be able to retain

happiness fulfilment. Focusing on the common good is another lesson I will take with

me for my daily life. Thinking about soul in comparison to the city/state helps me think of

the common good, it helps me to think about how my decisions or actions can benefit

not only myself but my community, family, or society at large. Doing so will give me a

sense of fulfillment which will contribute to my overall well being or in other words,

“happiness”.

Desire and Internal Harmony: Unpacking Marcus Aurelius’ Wisdom in 3.16

In this passage Marcus Aurelius touches on the roles of the body which he

mentions as the body (sensations), th( soul (desires), and the mind (reasoning),

(Aurelius, 200 b.c). He states in the passage that uncontrolled desired led by the soul,

can disrupt an individual’s virtuous path (Hays, n.d.) or in others words, lead to a

disruption in the city/state. Similarly to Plato’s analogy of the soul in Book 4, desire

cannot corrupt reason in the soul as it will disrupt harmony both in the soul and

city/state (Ohreen, 2023). These two principles reinforce the idea that wellbeing can be

achieved through self control which is what Aurelius refers to in this passage of desire

and internal harmony.

These principles can be directly applied to my life. By practicing self control, I will

ensure that desires do not take over my reasoning which will not only lead me a better

virtuous life but also to inner harmony and peace. As both Aurelius and Plato have

taugh me self discipline between the soul’s desire, reason, and spirit will lead to

harmony and well being (Ohreen, 2023).

 References

Ohreen, D. 2023. GNED 1202-003: Texts and Ideas Fall 2023. [Powerpoint].

https://learn.mru.ca/d2l/le/content/53232/viewContent/810582/View

Hays, G. n.d. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

https://vreeman.com/meditations/#book1