The Incredible Beauty Found When Your Mind Is Indifferent to Things That Are Out of Your Control

The colorful whiteboard animation series After Skool vividly illustrated the teachings of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a surprisingly humble man and Stoic philosopher who shared his personal observations in writings that came to be known as “Meditations”, although he never intended for them to be published.

His meditations, originally written in Greek, have been translated into nearly every language  and serve as a source of inspiration to millions, yet he never intended for his writing to be published. It was never meant to be read by anyone. In fact, he wanted his writing burned after he died there was no motive or agenda behind this work other than to serve as an internal dialogue of wisdom from his higher self to his lower self.

One such observation by Aurelius, was that of indifference, noting that this term doesn’t mean not caring about others, but rather seeing the beauty of the world without being consumed with things that are either outside the realm of control or have no significance in one’s life. In other words, “don’t sweat the small stuff”.

Marcus Aurelius emphasizes  that we must be indifferent about things that make no difference. … Indifference is not the same as not caring. It is not about being numb to life nor is it about ignoring our emotions. Indifference is a separation of your higher self from physical reality emotions and thoughts. It is  detachment from the outcomes so the rational mind can observe events from a clear distance.

Unfortunately, so many of us can fall into that trap.

Much of our time is spent worrying about the small stuff we find things to complain about or obsess over not knowing. That these things bear no impact on our life in the greater context. Change is  the only constant. Change is inevitable…Love the hand that fate deals you and play it as your own. It’s easy to look back and see the times of hardship as a meaningful experience it’s much more difficult to see the beauty and the adversity we face in the present moment but it can be done and it’s an amazingly powerful tool.