The words above were written almost 2000 years ago. Imagine that – 2000 years. And you just read them. Now here’s something even more amazing. The words above are as important to your life and well-being as they were to those that read them soon after they were written. In fact, they may even be more critical to life in the 21st center than there were in the 2nd.
Arrogance can keep us from learning from ancient sages.
People from the past had, of course, a completely different worldview. Much of written history occurs before the scientific revolution. There are certainly elements of ancient thinking that we would no longer view as valuable. We have come to know – through science – a wide array of knowledge that enables us to live longer and often with better health.
But that’s not the entire story. Though ancient sages didn’t possess the knowledge we do, they often had a deep understanding of the human condition. Not only that, they were able to articulate that condition and uncover insights that we need more than ever.
Consider again the words of Aurelius. How often has the quality of your life, in any given moment, been significantly altered – for good or bad – because of the thoughts you entertained? The ancient sage reminds us that our thinking has an enormous impact on our living. Something he figured out without understanding germ theory or quantum physics or the role of gravity in everyday life. Those scientific realities are amazing to explore. We should be honored to live in a time when we benefit from such amazing discoveries. But we can never forget that ancient sages has so much to teach us about the inner life, its exploration, and its transformation.
As we consider these questions, and this important topic, we’ll provide and post:
- Weekly thoughts/blogs about the topic of the week
- A weekly podcast that focuses on the topic of the week
- A reflective guide you can use for individual or group exploration