External interference happens everywhere in today’s world. For example, Facebook users see many advertisements that prompt them to make impulse purchases. So much distraction is on the Internet that even the best performers can only achieve 70% concentration on gainful work. In Meditations, Book IV, Aurelius advises that the only way to attain tranquility is to block the troubling external world.
Aurelius restates the standard stoic doctrine of contentment. The author asks, “With what are you discontented? With the badness of men?, “and then advises, “Recall to your mind this conclusion, that rational animals exist for one another, and that to endure is a part of justice, and that men do wrong involuntarily” (Aurelius 24). Firstly, he claims that people do wrong because of ignorance, which is supported by the observation that rational humans usually do not boast of being evil but justify their bad deeds. Aurelius then claims that people exist to help each other. He insists that enduring “the badness of men” is justice (Aurelius 24). When one grasps this concept, he or she acquires the strength to overcome the desperation that accompanies wickedness.
Avoiding things external troubles is the key to leading a fulfilling life. According to Aurelius, attraction to distractors, such as applause and praise, is senseless because they make the recipient dependent on them for happiness (25). While meditating on the time before and after a person’s existence in the universe, Aurelius recognizes the fickleness of pleasures. He concludes that they are external, immovable, and “do not touch the soul” (27). To him, aspects of life that do not revitalize the soul should not destruct a person from inner peace.
A thoughtful individual must not despair because of the evil committed by his or her colleagues. Instead, the person needs to realize that people do wrong involuntarily. In addition, to endure living among evildoers is justice because humans support each other.