DEPRESSION AND OTHER THOUGHTS:

The Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

What exactly is our end?
Of all the Roman Emperors, Marcus Aurelius shaped one of the glorious eras in all of
history. We may remember him as a great tactician in times of war, or we may remember him with
his incomparable rhetoric in convincing the Senate of doing certain things. And he was so good at
that. All of his decisions were approved by the Senate and Rome, well you know what happened
next, flourished; people living together in peace and satisfaction from all the Emperor has to offer.
What gave Marcus Aurelius this drive? In his Meditations, Marcus had a thought: “When
you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”
This is where most men fail. We sleep only to rise. We live only to die. We rise up only to get
beaten again. And somehow, some, including myself, live for that. And it’s a dangerous thing. The
problem is that we only see the beginning and the end. What we fail to see is that thing in between;
the drive to get back up again. We get beat up and say “for fvck’s sake, this is me.” Why can’t we
at least say “let me get back up again.” It is in this moment where we can fully realize something
we have failed to understand, that this is not our nature. We have failed to understand that we
cannot always accept things the way we wanted it to be. Man up. Get up. Fight again. Not because
we want to, but because it is the right thing to do. Wake up in the morning and don’t say “Oh shit.”
Welcome a new dawn, at least you’re alive. And that’s more than enough.
One of the greatest philosophical questions ever raised in the whole history of Philosophy
is “why is there something instead of nothing?” To put it simply, why do we need to be alive?
Suicidal persons need all the help they can get. It’s not because they are alone, but because they
feel alone. These people lose hope. They are the ones who get up in the morning and say “Oh shit,
here we go again.” Indeed, life tends to put one person down but it is not to encourage him to
accept that he should have not been born at all, but to encourage him that he is responsible for all
the decisions he has to make. No. There has to be something instead of nothing. There has to be
life instead of non-life. It is better to exist, and to live for others, than not having existed at all.
Thus, I am one with Marcus Aurelius in saying “It is not death that a man should fear, but he
should fear never beginning to live.” Man up. Get up. Welcome a new dawn, at least you exist.
So, what does it really mean to be human? What is our purpose? It is Aedimonia. Persons
who have committed suicide, so experts say, has experienced a sense of euphoria before they take
their own lives. They smile a lot, laugh a lot, and live as if there is no tomorrow simply because,
for the, there isn’t. Even at that last moment of life and hopelessness, we are given the chance to
realize that thing that makes us who we are, that thing that drives us to do the right things: THE
PROPENSITY FOR HAPPINESS ITSELF. Man is born to be happy, and we need to do that. Yes,
we live only to die but there is something in between: we live so that we can die happy. Welcome
a new dawn. At least you’re alive.
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
- Marcus Aurelius