Marcus Aurelius on Fear Quotes

Fear, particularly the fear of death and the unknown, is a central theme in Marcus Aurelius's meditations. He reasoned that death is a natural process, as necessary as birth or growth, and therefore nothing to be feared. 'It is not death that a man should fear,' he wrote, 'but he should fear never beginning to live. ' By accepting the inevitability of mortality and the constant flux of the universe, Aurelius freed himself from the anxiety of the future. His wisdom encourages us to focus on the present moment, the only time we actually possess, and to act without the paralyzing weight of fear.