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Distempers of Soul

Lines from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius that served as a reminder today on the work that I need to do, still have not done and found reasons to put it off for another day.

Remember how long thou hast already put off these things, and how often a certain day and hour as it were, having been set unto thee by the gods, thou hast neglected it. It is high time for thee to understand the true nature both of the world, whereof thou art a part; and of that Lord and Governor of the world, from whom, as a channel from the spring, thou thyself didst flow: and that there is but a certain limit of time appointed unto thee, which if thou shalt not make use of to calm and allay the many distempers of thy soul, it will pass away and thou with it, and never after return.

Had to think about the distempers of my soul that I have yet to calm and allay. When I paused to do that, it occurred to me that such maladies can not only stifle individual progress but that of those who are around them, look up to them or otherwise depend on them to provide direction. So as we put off things for another day, we set into motion a chain of events that hinders the progress of many others. 

Comments

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