The Modern Marcus

by Jason Ball

  11. Be kind, always

  If you can change people’s bad behaviour, do it. If not, remember to be kind.

  The universe sometimes conspires to help such people, leading them to better health or greater wealth. So what’s preventing you from doing the same?

  12. Hard work

  Work hard. I don’t mean like a slave or someone looking for pity but as someone totally committed to doing the right thing.

  13. Free again

  Today, I freed myself from confusion. Well, to be clear, I freed confusion from me. You see, it wasn’t outside, it was within and relying on my point of view.

  14. No change there then

  Every experience is commonplace, short-lived and easily corrupted. It’s the same today as it’s always been, reaching back to the dawn of time.

  15. Get out

  Outside your front door, that’s the world. It’s what it is, no more, no less. It’s not self-aware, it doesn’t pass judgement on itself.

  So how do you judge it? Use your mind.

  16. I don’t care how you feel

  Good and evil lie in what people do, not how they feel. Just as their behaviour, good and bad, is about what they do.

  17. Ups and downs

  To a yo-yo, there’s no evil in dropping just as there’s no good in rising.

  18. Everyone’s a critic

  If you take time to look inside people’s motivations, you’ll see the kinds of critics you are so scared of. But you’ll also see how rubbish they are at criticising themselves.

  19. Transformers

  Everything changes. You too. Every day, you’re in a process of transformation. But so is the universe.

  20. Leave it alone

  When others do wrong, just leave it.

  21. Many deaths

  When anything stops – an activity, an impulse, an opinion – there’s no evil.

  Look at the stages of life: babe in arms, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age. Each ended in a kind of death. Were they so scary?

  Or think about how you lived with your parents or your grandparents or with aunts and uncles but have now moved on. When you look at all these changes, ask yourself, ‘Was there anything to be afraid of?’

  No. And it’s exactly the same with your ultimate death.

  22. Mind-reading the universe

  Be quick to look into your own mind, your neighbour’s mind and the mind of the universe.

  Make sure your mind is fair. As for your neighbour, figure out whether they act on purpose or out of ignorance, and never forget, they are a fellow human. And as for the universe, simply remind yourself that you are part of something far bigger than you.

  23. Community values

  You are part of the community around you. So every action should benefit that community. Anything else harms the community as a whole. It’s like that guy on Twitter who can’t resist trolling everyone around him.

  24. You couldn’t make it up

  Childish arguments and temper tantrums. Petty games of make-believe. Tiny breaths sustaining corpses.

  The world of ghosts and fairies is more solid than this.

  25. How long?

  Job one: Get to the heart of what’s causing events. Split this out from the effects. Study it closely. Then work out how long the root cause can sustain the effects.

  26. Enough is enough

  You are on the receiving end of all sorts of problems simply because you won’t let reason guide you. Enough already!

  27. Caring, not caring

  When people are dicks towards you, look deeply into their hearts. Try to work out what kind of people they really are.

  Chances are, you’ll quickly see that there’s nothing to be gained by making efforts to get into their good graces. All the same, try to view them with kindness. They are fellow humans. They face all the same trials and tribulations you do.

  28. Cycles within cycles

  The universe works in cycles. Maybe there is some kind of fate that triggers everything. If so, go with it. Or maybe there actually was some form of master event that started the ball rolling and that everything else is simply a consequence.

  Fate or consequences, who cares? Whichever it is, you can’t do much about it apart from applying your mind to what to do next.

  Pretty soon, we’ll all revert to a bunch of atoms. Later, so will the Earth.

  Whatever the consequences, change will be inevitable and endless (until time itself ends). To understand all this is to view our little bit of mortality with indifference.

  29. Keeping it simple, keeping it real

  The progress of the universe is like a flood that carries everything else along. How pathetic it is that small people play at politics and imagine they’re some gift to the world. Snot-nosed toddlers!

  What does it really take to be fully human? Precisely what nature is demanding right now. Right. Now.

  No delay. No worrying if anyone is watching. Don’t try to boil the ocean, just get started. Small steps. And understand that this is a pretty big deal in its own right.

  You’re not going to change people’s true convictions, and without that, it’s all just a façade. The best you can hope for is some grudging obedience or face-saving acceptance.

  Go ahead. Tell me all about all the gurus and heroes and wise eggs. If they learned about the will of nature, good for them. But if they were just playing the part, why should I follow their examples?

  The good life is a simple one, a modest one. That’s what will stop me becoming a pretentious jerk.

  30. Cruising altitude

  Imagine you’re in a plane, looking down on the mass of people and all their comings and goings, in good times and bad.

  Look at all the fantastic creatures that are born, live with each other and then die. All the long-dead generations before you. All those who haven’t been born yet. All those living in some far-flung region of the planet.

  How many haven’t even heard of you? Or how many have quickly forgotten your name and unsubscribed from your thoughts, posts and updates?

  How many are loving your work right now but will be slagging you off in the near future?

  Whether it’s fame, glory or whatever, it’s all ultimately worthless.

  31. Paint a rainbow

  When you’re up against something you can’t control, relax. When you do act, always be honest and fair. In either case, focus on making the world a better place for others while being true to yourself.

  32. Think bigger, think wider

  A lot of the stuff that winds you up can easily be got rid of. The reality is, it’s all in your head. You can always think bigger, expanding your mind to focus on the wider universe or the eternity of existence or on how everything is always changing.

  Think of the brief span of human life, sandwiched between the endless nothing before you were born and the boundless stretch of time after your death.

  33. It all equals out

  Look around. What you’re seeing will soon be dead and gone. And soon after, so will everyone else who’s watching it too.

  Then there’ll be no difference between an ancient grandparent and a babe that died in the cradle.

  34. Look into my eyes

  Take time to examine the instincts that guide others.

  What are they working towards?

  Why do they value and love what they do?

  Look at them with a calculating eye, as if their souls were laid open before you. They think their thoughts and opinions should affect you?

  Whatever.

  35. It’s not so bad

  Loss is just change. And the universe loves change.

  Ever since the Big Bang, things have come into being in the same way and will continue to do so until the end of time. How can you claim then that everything is getting worse? That the world is condemned to turmoil and despair forever?

  36. No exceptions

  Everything is destined to decay – water, earth, bones, everything. Sto
ne is just compressed shells and sand. Clothing is merely tufts of cotton or the silk from the back end of a worm (if you’re fancy). And every breath is the same. In. Out. In. Out.

  37. Give it a rest

  Enough bitching and grumbling already. Why stress yourself out? Nothing new is happening to get you all riled up.

  So what gives?

  Is the issue down to what’s causing these things? Then take a deeper look.

  Is it the results? Then focus on that.

  Beyond cause and effect, there’s nothing else. Wherever you are in life, look to become a simpler, better person. (The task is the same whether you work at it for one year or one hundred.)

  38. Real harm?

  If someone has done wrong, they’ve harmed themselves. But what if they haven’t done any harm?

  39. Baa

  Either everything has its roots in some kind of single intelligent source or else it’s made up of atoms brought together by chance and evolution.

  If it’s the former, no part of the whole should complain about its position and purpose.

  If it’s the latter, again, what are you going to do?

  So don’t worry. Keep your mind true to yourself. Are you already dead? Are you simply going through the motions? Are you just another sheep in a field, eating grass the same as all the rest?

  40. Do the gods care?

  If there are gods (of any religion), they are either powerful or powerless.

  If they’re powerless, why bother with them?

  If they’re all-powerful, rather than begging them to be spared this or that problem, why not pray simply to not be disturbed by whatever happens? If they exist and can help at all, surely this is in their power (and won’t affect anyone else).

  Of course you could say, ‘Isn’t this something the gods have given me the power to do myself?’ Good point. Then surely you’re better off using that power yourself than begging for things outside your control.

  Anyway, who says that a god wouldn’t give you a helping hand in this way?

  So instead of praying to capture the eye of someone you fancy, try praying to avoid lusting after them in the first place.

  Or instead of praying to your god to defeat your enemies, pray to be free of your desire to be rid of them.

  And instead of praying that you never lose your child, instead pray not to fear the loss of them.

  Give this a go and see what happens.

  41. Feeling ill

  Epicurus was a smart man. When he was sick, he never spoke about his aches and pains. Instead, he carried on focusing on how the mind could stay distant from the pain even while being a part of the rest of the body. How it was still free to do its own thing. Neither did he give his doctors the chance to boast about their achievements in making him well. He just got on with life, calmly and happily.

  So if you’re ill, be like Epicurus. Don’t let it affect your mind or get caught up in all the nonsense you’ll hear or read on Doctor Google (pretty much every expert agrees on this).

  Keep doing your thing with the tools at your disposal.

  42. Helping hands

  When someone is a dick towards you, ask yourself, ‘Will there ever be a world without dicks like these?’

  Of course not, so don’t ask for the impossible. These people are just a part of everything else in the world. Keep this in mind whenever you come across any liar, troll or idiot. In doing so, you’ll find they don’t get to you so much.

  And don’t forget, you already have the ability to deal with these kinds of things.

  If people are rude, be polite.

  If they are harsh, be gentle.

  If they are loud, be quiet.

  Remember, you have the power to show people that they’ve got it wrong, that they’re off the mark.

  Besides what harm has this caused you? Nothing they’ve done can really hurt you unless your mind lets it.

  Is it so surprising that a dick behaves dickishly? Shouldn’t you blame yourself for not expecting this? You had the mind and the ability to realise this and you didn’t. And now you’re surprised.

  Whenever someone winds you up, turn your thoughts inwards first. The mistake is yours – especially if you put your faith in that kind of person or did something for them expecting a reward other than that of doing something good in the world.

  Once you’ve done a good deed, what more do you want? Isn’t it enough simply to have done the right thing?

  Anything else is like expecting to reward your eyes for seeing or your ears for hearing. It’s just what they do.

  It’s the same with people. We are made to help each other. It’s just what we do.

  15

  The Tenth Book

  ‘Stop all that bleating on about what a good person should be. Be it.’

  1. When oh when?

  I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever get it.

  Will my mind ever become truly good, sincere, transparent and honest with the world around me?

  Will I ever be as loving and kind as I want to be?

  Will I give up on wanting more, more, more and just be satisfied with what I’ve got?

  Will I give up on hoping that someone will simply look after me and pander to my needs?

  And will I stop trying to prolong my life, wishing for another year, another day, another hour?

  When will I finally be happy with things how they are and understand that this is all just how it is and that that’s OK? It’s the way of the universe – good, fair and beautiful.

  It’s the universe that gives us all life and to which we return after death (where our atoms become something else again).

  Will I ever deserve to find my place in all this without complaining and moaning about my fate?

  2. Do what you do

  Look inside. Pay attention to what your true self is telling you to do.

  Do it.

  Be OK with this (as long as it’ll do you no physical harm of course).

  But also listen to your body. Do what it needs (as long as it won’t harm your mind or those around you).

  Follow these rules without worrying about all the other stuff.

  3. Carry on carrying on

  Whatever happens, you’re either ready or you’re not.

  If it’s something crappy that you can cope with, don’t resent it, just use what you have to get through to the other side. If it goes beyond what you’re capable of, still refuse to resent it – don’t let it win.

  And don’t forget, you can endure anything your mind has decided is endurable by simply viewing the act of endurance as being good for you.

  4. Who’s to blame?

  If someone gets something wrong, take time to gently show them their mistake and how they can correct it.

  If you don’t manage to persuade them, you have two choices – either blame yourself or blame no one.

  5. Meant to be?

  Whatever happens is just the end of a series of causes and effects that go back to the beginning of time. Your small thread in this tapestry was always going to lead to this moment.

  6. A part of the whole

  Regardless whether the universe is a random jumble of atoms or some kind of ordered system, I know I’m a part of the wider whole and must follow its rules.

  As such, I’m related to everything and everyone else around me. As a part of the universe, then, I’m not going to bitch about anything it sends my way since anything that’s good for the whole is good for me.

  It’s like a body, except that, as far as I know, there’s nothing outside the universe that can make it do anything that would harm it.

  So, I might as well be relaxed about what comes my way. And because I’m related to all the other parts, I’m not about to do anything which will cause them harm – quite the opposite in fact.

  If I keep all this in mind, my life will run smoothly – just like it will for anyone who looks out for others and is ready to do what’s needed.

  7. Are these your atoms? />
  Everything in the universe will ultimately decay and change form.

  If this was some kind of essential evil, the universe simply wouldn’t work. Everything is decaying all the time and the natural world is not pre-programmed to harm itself – it wouldn’t survive if that was the case.

  Even if this process is not part of some intricate system and is, instead, purely random, it’s nothing to get stressed about. It’s not unnatural or some kind of plot against us.

  Ultimately, our atoms will be recycled to become other things. You’ve already gone through these kinds of changes in your life, taking in atoms from food, transforming them into energy, transforming that into muscle, etc.

  You weren’t born with all these atoms, and even if you’ve still got some from back then hanging about, it doesn’t undermine the general argument.

  8. You do your thing

  If you talk about yourself as good, humble, truthful, clear-headed, accepting, rational and all the rest of it, make sure you don’t contradict this in real life. And if you do stumble, fix it quick.

  Remember, being clear-headed is about paying attention to the details, watching what’s really going on. And acceptance means rolling with whatever comes your way, not getting bent out of shape about the coulda, woulda, shoulda.

  Being rational is about putting the mind above the body and emotions – above ambition, fear and death. Live up to your claims (though without becoming desperate for others to echo those same claims) and you’ll become a different person with a different life.

  To carry on being torn and harassed by life is just stupid and cowardly. It’s like the boxer who staggers out of the ring bloody and bruised, just barely conscious, but who still pleads, ‘Just one more fight,’ only to be beaten again the next day.