Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 CE, and is among the best known of the Stoic philosophers. He was the last of the Roman rulers known as “the five good emperors”, who presided over the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) – an age of relative peace and stability for the Empire, lasting from 27 BCE to 180 CE. It is remarkable that Marcus was able to write his Meditations (in Greek) while battling Germanic tribes on the Empire’s northern frontier! 

Many of Marcus’s expressions of gratitude or thanks appear in Book I of the Meditations, in which he thanks almost all the key figures in his life. This passage, addressed to “the Gods”,  will give you a sampling of these “thank you notes”:

To the Gods I owe it that I had good grandfathers and parents, a good sister, good teachers, good servants, good kinsmen, and friends, good almost all of them. I have to thank them that I never through haste and rashness offended any of them; though my temper was such as might have led me to it had occasion offered. But by their goodness no such concurrence of circumstances happened as could discover my weakness... To the Gods it is due that I lived under the government of such a prince and father as could take from me all vain glory…I thank the Gods that I have had such a brother as by his disposition might stir me to take care of myself, while at the same time he delighted me by his respect and love. I thank [the Gods] that my children neither [lacked] good natural dispositions nor were deformed in body….[I thank the Gods]…that my body hath so long endured the stress of such a life as I have led… I must be grateful, too, that I have such a wife, so obedient, so loving, so ingenuous; that I had choice of fit and able men to whom I might commit the education of my children… The Gods watched over me also when I first applied myself to philosophy. [Translated by George W. Chrystal] 

Here are some of Marcus’s other reflections on gratitude, drawn from the 5: :

When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.

Comment: My psychiatric colleague, Dr. Michael McGee, has expressed a similar sentiment. He writes, “There is so much senseless suffering and so much wasted time taking this gift of life and consciousness for granted and not savouring this precious gift of existence…Everyday consciousness is nothing short of the most amazing, incredible, and mysterious miracle of all miracles. The most appropriate response to this gift of consciousness can only be wonder, awe, reverence, and gratitude.” (personal communication, 12/18/23)

All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.”

“…the world subsists upon change, and is preserved by the mutation of the simple elements, and also of things mixed and compounded, and what it loses one way it gets another. Let these reflections satisfy you, and make them your rule to live by. As for books, cast away your thirst after them, that you may not die complaining, but go off in good-humour, and heartily thank the gods for what you have had. [Translated by Jeremy Collier]. 

Pass through this brief patch of time in harmony with nature, and come to your final resting place gracefully, just as a ripened olive might drop, praising the earth that nourished it and grateful to the tree that gave it growth. - Meditations, 4.48

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