Marcus Aurelius writes, “Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what’s left and live it properly. What doesn’t transmit light creates its own darkness.”

Think of yourself as dead? At first glance, it’s a bit morbid. But consider it again for a moment.

Aurelius is offering a radical kind of freedom, to imagine your life is already over. Including the regrets. The wasted time. The drama. The things you should’ve said or done . Gone. That version of you? Done.

What’s left is a gift. A clean slate. If you choose to see it that way. To go forward, from this point on to live as properly as you possibly can.

Aurelius wasn’t talking about chasing perfection. How would we even begin to define that anyway? It's about finally dropping the weight of the past and showing up fully for yourself, for your day, for your relationships, your values.

And then there’s that haunting line, “What doesn’t transmit light creates its own darkness.” What happens if we choose to not show up? What if we don’t live with purpose? Or if we withhold our love, our truth, our creativity, and joy? We’ll certainly to squander precious time. And we don’t stay neutral. Lastly, we’ll recreate the darkness with shadows.

So here's a question. What if you truly believed your old life was over? What would you stop doing?
What would you finally begin? We don’t need more time. We need more intention.