All is as thinking makes it so, Stoic Happiness Wednesday's (#1)

This quote is taken from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and I think it is a perfect way to begin my Stoic Happiness Wednesdays experiment on Steemit. I say this because we are all on a blogging website where most of the posts shared are subjective and are open to personal interpretation. Therefore what is posted should come straight from the heart and have some kind of intrinsic meaning behind the reasoning to post it.

I personally feel that the meaning of this sentence is to convey the message that life is how you make it. ‘All’ depends on your internal reactions, emotions, and sensations in response to the external world around you. In other words, if you have a negative disposition and view everything in a pessimistic manner then this thinking will consume your reality and make every situation a less enjoyable one when we could be really living life to the fullest!

I understand that this is a real cliche thing to say but it actually works! If something negative happens to you, try to believe that it is the best possible thing to happen to you regardless of what it is. Try to find something positive in the negative and it will automatically alter your happiness over time.

That aside, it is important to feel pain and sadness at times and we’d all be lying to one another if we claimed to of never felt these emotions in life. However, it is your immediate reaction to the events that cause the pain and sadness that shape your mental stability and positive reality.

We all do our best work when we are truly happy. Life is about enjoyment and living in the present so it is important that we think positive, and spread this positivity to those around us also! No matter what the occurrence, there is always a positive side, a lesson to be learned, the opportunity to grow, remember this and allow your reality to be the ‘All’ you truly wish it to be!

Adam x

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Background on Marcus Aurelius:

Born on April 26th 121 AD in Rome, Italy
He went on to become the Roman emperor in 161 AD and was regarded the last of the five so-called Good Emperors. He wrote the famous book on Stoicism called Meditations which wasn’t formerly meant as a book for the masses but rather just a journal for himself on how to live his life. Unbelievably years later, the lessons he used and applied in those days can still be applied to society today, and it used as a tool by many titans of industry present today. He later died in 180 AD and is celebrated as the ideal emperor.