Book VII felt like the most fragmented so far.
There’s no single arc — just 75 short reflections, ideas, quotes from others, and loose strands of thought.
Some were impenetrable. Some lacked soul.
But a few stayed with me.
Marcus says:
“What lies outside your mind has no power over your mind. Understand that, and you’ll be at peace.”
It sounds obvious at first — but when I let it settle, I realized:
That’s exactly what Viktor Frankl taught — that between stimulus and response, we have space.
And that space is where our power lies.
No one controls how I interpret what happens.
That’s where peace is built — not in silence, but in sovereignty.
Another point that unsettled me:
“Among all these things — drama, fame, contests — stand firm in kindness and without contempt. Each person’s value matches the value of their pursuits.”
That hit something raw.
Because I’m not like that.
I often do feel contempt — especially for people who pour their time and energy into creating trash, chasing clout, or glorifying nonsense.
And yes, I judge them by their output. If you dedicate your life to garbage — how can I see you as anything else?
But Marcus suggests something wiser.
He doesn’t say to admire them.
He says — don’t waste your calm on contempt.
That maybe it’s better to show others — through example, not emotion — that there’s another way.
Because reacting with disdain just breaks my own internal order.
Am I more active than him here? Probably.
But is it worth the toll on peace? That’s something I’m still figuring out.
He returns to the idea that help is okay.
If you can’t do something alone — accept assistance.
Stoicism isn’t about isolation. It’s about agency, not ego.
He also says that whatever happens in the future, the same reason you use now — the same clarity — will help you then.
Simple. Reassuring. True.
There’s a strange moment where Marcus mentions “one God.”
Which feels out of place in Rome — but it shows how the stoics were shifting from mythology to metaphysics.
They didn’t believe in Zeus anymore — but in Logos, Reason, or some higher order.
It was the beginning of a new spiritual seriousness.
A stepping stone toward something more unified — and closer to what we now call God.
One line I underlined:
“Seek within yourself. The source of good is there — always capable of flowing again.”
That made me pause.
Do all people have that source?
Or are some truly broken?
Are some people just… sadistic? Malevolent?
I don’t know.
But I like to believe that the source is there — sometimes buried, sometimes poisoned —
but there.
And finally, Marcus quotes Epicurus, saying:
“Pain is neither eternal nor unbearable — unless you enlarge it in your imagination.”
That’s another timeless line.
Suffering exists.
But whether it rules me — that’s up to me.
Not a brilliant chapter.
But still a few embers glowing in the dust.
And one day, I’ll gather all these sparks — and write a single post about everything Meditations taught me.