Meditations Updated: Book 3 (2024)

Rich Prest

Book 3

1. Our life is slipping by, and we could lose our faculties at any time and the ability to apply reason. So we must make haste!

2. Nature is always beautiful, even as things age. Appreciate that beauty in things and people.

3. Others have been on more difficult voyages. Wherever your journey has brought you, get out and make the most of it.

4. Don’t waste your life thinking about others, use that time to focus on yourself and do something. Check your thinking: is it with purpose, without malice, and would you share it with others without embarrassment? A stoic is uncontaminated by pleasure, unharmed by pain or insult, noble and just, and accepting of all that happens. A stoic focuses on himself, accepts what he has, acts fairly and cares for others. A stoic doesn’t value praise from those who do not lead a pure life.

5. Work hard, without distraction, with a view to the common good, don’t be too wordy or just do busy work. Your soul is your guide, act your age, be engaged in political matters, a ruler, ready to go, without need of other’s votes. Be happy, don’t seek help of others, or be reliant on their support, stand on your own two feet.

6. If you find anything better than justice, truth, moderation, courage, that fills your soul, then go after it. Follow your inner guide. Don’t be distracted by pleasures, they will prevent you from achieving your purpose. Just choose the best option, and stick to it. The best option is what a rational being would choose.

7. Never value something that chooses you to break your promise, to lose self-respect, or to hate another. Never value something that chooses you to curse, be suspicious or hypocritical, or to desire property. If you choose yourself, you will not whine, need silence or company, and most importantly you will not fear death. If you have lived true to your self, and your community, you can face death easily, whenever it comes.

8. The minds of those who live to themselves are free of corruption and impurities and unhealed wounds. Whenever fate strikes, life is complete for those who have lived true to themselves. There is nothing servile or affected, dependent on others, worthy of criticism or hiding in one who has lived truly.

9. Revere the ability to form rational opinions free from hasty judgement, yet good for relationships and aligned with your beliefs.

10. You live only in the present, the rest of your life is either past or uncertain, so forget the rest and focus on the now. Life is short, you live in a small corner of the earth, and even the longest fame is short-lived, so focus on the now.

11. Elevate your mind by taking time to methodically analyze what comes your way: understand it, its use and place in the universe. Understand if something comes from destiny or chance, or a fellow human, and if it is aligned with your values.

12. To live happily apply yourself to the task in front of you with vigor, calm, and focus, expecting and fearing nothing. No one can prevent you from achieving the happiness that comes from following your own path.

13. Just like a trained surgeon, you have the tools to understand all things and do everything true to your principles. Humanity and the universe are linked: you can’t do anything well without understanding how each links to the other.

14. Stop living without purpose, or hoping you’ll get things done, or be helped. Help yourself by taking control of your life.

15. Use your guiding principles, not your eyes to see what ought to be done.

16. To the body belongs sensations, to the soul appetites, to the intelligence principles. Animals follow sensation, weak men follow desires. Action without principles results in betrayal and bad deeds. The good man is content with his destiny, follows his principles, is calm and focused, living truly and justly. Don’t be angry, or deviate from your path, or worry if others do not understand you, live purely and be truly content with your life.