This morning I continued my reading of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. I am a few sections (“Books” as they’re called in the writing) and it has been intriguing. The author of this translation, Gregory Hays, discussed in the introduction that there is a lot of attention on the amount of weight Marcus placed on death. I am not far into it and I can certainly see why. He does remark, frequently, that we could die at any moment and, it is hard not to interpret this as him saying that everything is meaningless because we’ll die, and those that remember us will die, and so and so forth.
There were moments of gloom while I was reading, but I made the choice to interpret his main message when discussing those darker topics based on this line:
No one can lose either the past or the future - how could
anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? ...
It is only the present moment of which either stands to be deprived:
and if this is all he has, he cannot lose what he does not have.
As someone who is a chronic overthinker, over-analyzer, and scenario-maker-upper, this resonated with me. Something I have been making a genuine effort to do in the recent months has been to be present and embrace the process. When I am able to put focus and energy into the present as opposed to replaying something from the past, or anticipating something in the future, I am happier, more engaging, and just a better person. When I am able to embrace the process, whether of a current project, plan, or just life in general, I find that I, automatically, am concerned less with the past or the future, and can shine in the present.
What ways do you help yourself stay present?
Anyhow, this is a cigar site, so let’s talk about the Lampert 1675 Edicion Azul Short Robusto. What a cigar! This blend is great in any size, and I could smoke it everyday in any size. However, I am a short robusto guy. This 3 ¾ x 52 thing packs in tons of toasty, earthy, chocolatey flavor in a compact package that doesn’t break the bank AND is still able to burn perfectly for 50 minutes to an hour - no problem. I love these!
Have a great day,
-Trevor