Look Within

‘Look within,’ Marcus Aurelius tells himself, ‘within is the fountain of good.’ His practical philosophy developed from the private, painstaking reflections of a man with too many responsibilities and no-one in whom to confide. Since his notebooks were discovered, the careful disposition of a man attempting to reach his own soul has inspired thousands of readers. Yet while his words are inspiring, on a deeper level they are also a series of personal instructions. The phrase ‘look within’ is a conscious act, an intentional re-connection with a deep, internal, evergreen island, a ‘demi-paradise’ in which the immortal part freely breathes.

His written command to himself can bring one to that same place. Intuitively, one knows that it is there, a place where one is undisturbed, unaffected by externals, a place of strength. And when one reaches this place, guided to a previously uncharted domain, one recognises it immediately, breathes with relief and sits down as the host and the guest at the same time. Presence is familiar, serene and detached from the frantic activity and concerns of the functions.