Meditations

My feelings about this book (or this entire philosophy in general) are a bit mixed; I respect so much of it, but I can't say that I agree with all of it. I can say however, that I will be surely changing up my mindset (maybe lifestyle) after reading this book, and that is perhaps the most important takeaway from this. I may not agree with his aggressive stance on disassociating yourself with a near cosmic point of view, becoming apathetic to the arts and sensual pleasures to focus on yourself and well being. Adhering to the laws of stoicism sounds burdening, where enjoyment of life would be hampered by the lack of pleasure or socializing - even with the stress he places on community relationships, I just don't buy that it will be helping you make many friends.

But what I will take away is that life is too short - in his words, a “fraction of infinity taken away in an instant” - to be concerned with the opinions of people whom will never affect the way I live if they approve of my lifestyle or not. With the amount of stress he places on the brevity of life, of course you have to make the most of it - build a lifestyle that will make you reach your peak physically, mentally, and spiritually. I just can't agree with the logical extreme he takes.