The Modern Marcus

by Jason Ball

  So jump aboard your little ship of claims, hang on through rough seas and storms if you can. But if you can’t, make for some nearby harbour where you can regroup for a bit.

  When you’re trying to keep your strengths front and centre, it can help to remember how the universe works. Trees do tree things. Dogs do dog things. Bees do bee things. And rational humans should do rational human things.

  9. Time to step up

  Day-in, day-out, all the idiocy, pointless arguments, laziness and brown-nosing will gang up to obliterate your carefully cultivated clear thinking.

  So it’s down to you to focus on every single thing, every event, every action and do what needs to be done while ensuring your mind remains focused. In doing so, enjoy the confidence that only someone who’s in control of the details can hope to attain.

  Will you ever manage to achieve the peace of mind that comes from true integrity? A peace of mind that stems from looking deeper, understanding what’s inside every creature and where it fits into the greater scheme of things. One that sees what it is, how it’s made and who has power over it.

  10. Catch this

  Cats love catching birds. Some people love fishing. Others love hunting big game. Still others love ensnaring people.

  If you look at them and what they believe, aren’t they all just thieves?

  11. Everything changes

  Pay attention to the constant change in the universe around you. Teach yourself how and why it happens. There is nothing that’s better at expanding your mind. Because once you realise that you might be gone at any moment, you’ll worry less about your husk of a body and be able to devote yourself to higher aims: truth, fairness, being at one with the world around you.

  You’ll stop caring what others think or say about you. Only two things will really matter: justice and being OK with whatever fate has in store. You’ll be able to park all the other worries and distractions. Your only ambition will be to live life true to your higher ideals.

  12. The direct route

  When you know what you have to do, there’s no need to guess. If the path ahead is clear, go for it and don’t turn back.

  Of course, if it’s all a bit murky, wait awhile. Get some advice. See if the fog clears.

  If other things get in your way, approach with caution, do what you can with what you’ve got. Always err in the direction that seems the fairest to all. Because this is where your destination lies (and it’s also the place where most people fail).

  13. Are they worth it?

  From the moment you get up, ask yourself, ‘Does it really matter if others criticise my actions when I know I’m correct?’ Of course not.

  People who are so quick to praise you or blame you are just the same in the rest of their lives. Think about all the stuff they do, what they chase after or take from others they attack – not just with their hands but with the highest part of their selves, the part that’s the source of fairness, truth, honour and justice.

  14. Give and take

  To nature – where everything comes from and everything is destined to return – simply say, ‘Give me what you will and take what you want.’

  But don’t get all ‘up yourself’ about it. Ask with simple honesty and goodwill.

  15. You’re not getting any younger

  When you’re getting on and the end is approaching, live your life as if your home was at the top of some rocky mountain.

  After all, why does it matter where you live? As long as you see yourself as a part of everything around you. Let others see you as someone living in tune with nature and the wider universe.

  If they can’t stand the sight, let them get rid of you. It’s better to die than live like them.

  16. Just be it

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

  17. You are very, very small

  Spend time thinking about all eternity. Consider that everything around you is just a speck in the universe and your time here is but the blink of an eye.

  18. Born to be dead

  Pick up a thing, some random object. Focus on how it is already changing, dissolving and decaying. Everything is born to die.

  19. Get over yourself

  Eating, sleeping, fucking, shitting – what are people like?

  All those attitudes they throw up. All the face-saving, the look-at-me Instagramming. Just minutes ago they were sucking up to others.

  Wait a few more minutes and they’ll do it again. What’s the point?

  20. Now that’s good

  Whatever the universe serves up is for the best (and for the best exactly when it happens).

  21. You love, I love

  Nature loves making rain and whatever else needs to exist. To nature I say, ‘What you love, so do I.’

  Isn’t this the real meaning of ‘love will find a way’?

  22. On the move?

  You can carry on living here. You can move somewhere else if you like. Or you can die (in which case, don’t worry).

  There really are no other choices, so relax.

  23. Take it with you

  Living how you should will be the same no matter where you are. On top of a mountain. By the sea. Wherever.

  Your mind can always be soaking up the sun on a pure, sandy beach (even when your face is in someone’s armpit on public transport).

  24. Is your mind working?

  What is your reasoning mind?

  What are you supposed to do with it right now?

  What use are you putting it to?

  Is it doing its job?

  Are you drifting away from others and failing to make a connection with them?

  Is it so focused on your body, your whims and urges that it can’t think about anything else?

  25. No time to run away

  If you go AWOL from the army, you’re a deserter.

  But think of the law as our platoon. If we break it, we too are deserters.

  Ultimately, if you get wound up by anger, envy or fear, you’re breaking with something that’s a natural outcome of the universe.

  It’s a natural law (and one you’re fleeing from).

  26. No big mystery

  Some man ejaculates into a woman and leaves. But this starts a chain of events that can create a new life. How amazing.

  The same guy throws some food down his throat and it’s transformed into energy and emotion.

  Drop your phone, and gravity pulls it to the road.

  From the outside, these processes seem mysterious. But just because you can’t see them with your eyes, the results are still clear.

  27. You again?

  Think about how everything that’s happening around you is just a rerun of the past. Also consider that it’s likely to happen again in future.

  Think of all the dramas, large and small, you’ve experienced time and time again (or which are similar to things you’ve seen in history books).

  Think of governments – first this party, then that, then back to the other. It’s just the same show with different actors.

  28. Oink

  When you see someone bitching and complaining, picture them as a pig about to be butchered, squealing and squealing.

  Someone who chooses instead to hide under their duvet moping in silence is no better.

  A reasonable person will go with the flow and embrace the world without all the drama. All the rest can do is tag along.

  29. Is that it?

  Whatever you’re doing, stop and ask yourself, ‘Is it the thought that I won’t be able to do this anymore the reason I fear death?’

  30. Mirror images

  When someone offends you, consider whether you have similar faults. Do you too love money, fame and pleasure too much?

  Once you realise they’re only doing what they do because they are driven by these impulses, you’ll be less angry. What else could they have done?

  Alternatively, if you can, help them see things another way (you’ll help yourself
too).

  31. Smoke and dust and patience

  When you see one of today’s politicians or celebrities, imagine they are someone similar who’s now long dead. Do the same with yourself – think of a great, great grandparent perhaps. Ask, ‘Where are they now?’

  The answer is, nowhere (or at best no one really knows). This will help you see all humanity as simply smoke and dust. And you’ll realise that once something changes, it’s gone for good.

  So why get stressed? Why not just live your life as best you can?

  Think about all the good you could be doing but aren’t because you’re so focused on all this other crap. In reality, it’s all just a training ground for your mind to teach it the truth about the universe and your place within it.

  Be patient. Learn what life has to teach you. It’s like getting used to spicy food or getting a fire hot enough to burn even the largest logs. It takes time.

  32. Be true or don’t bother

  Don’t let anyone be able to say that you are not honest and fair.

  If anyone thinks this, you should be able to say, hand on heart, they’re wrong. Because it’s down to you. Only you can be honest and fair and good and all the rest of it.

  If you can’t do this, why go on?

  33. The obstacle course

  What’s the best you can say or do with what you have? After all, whatever happens, you are free to say or do what you like. There’s no excuse.

  Let’s face it, you’ll never stop complaining until it’s as natural for you to follow your true self (whether you’re in a hole or a hotel) as it is for an alcoholic to like a tipple. In fact, you should get off on every opportunity you get to be who you really are (and the opportunities are endless).

  A wheel won’t roll by itself. A fire won’t ignite without a spark. Water doesn’t appear out of nowhere. There are too many things in the way.

  But intelligence, the mind, reason, they’re different. They can find a way past any obstacle. Just like a wheel rolling down a slope, a fire leaping up a set of curtains or rain falling from a cloud. You need look no further.

  If something is going to stop us, it must only affect our bodies. If not, our minds have to conspire to skew our perceptions or give up reason altogether. Then we can be defeated.

  It’s one of the curious things in nature. When an obstacle affects some inanimate object, it tends to make it worse. But when someone overcomes those obstacles, they become better.

  In short, nothing can truly hurt someone if it doesn’t damage the wider universe – and that can only happen if it runs counter to the laws of the universe. The things you call bad luck are never counter to the laws of the universe. So they can’t, ultimately, hurt you.

  34. Leaves in the wind

  When you know the truth, even a simple saying can bring it home. For example, ‘What are people but leaves that fall in the wind?’

  Your kids are the leaves. The leaves are also the mass of people around you (the ones that shout and sneer and praise and complain). The leaves are also all those that may remember you once you’re gone. They grow in spring and are gone by winter, blown away by autumn gales. They’re then replaced by new leaves in turn. And so it goes.

  Nothing lasts and yet you chase after it all (or run away when it’s scary). It’s like they’ll be here forever. Soon enough your end will come. Soon after, it’ll come for those who mourn you too.

  35. The healthy mind

  A healthy eye’s job is to see things as they are, not demand that everything should be shades of green. (That would simply demand a trip to the optician.)

  It’s the same with hearing and smell. They should tell you about what’s happening.

  A healthy stomach should digest your food.

  And a healthy mind should be ready for whatever comes its way.

  A mind that cries, ‘Keep my kids from dying’ or ‘Make everyone love me’ is like an eye that only wants to see green or a nose that only wants to smell roses.

  36. Slip sliding away

  No one is so lucky that they can lay on their deathbed without people looking forward to their imminent demise.

  These people might say you’re clever, good or wise. But some will also mutter under their breath that they’re happy to see the back of you, that they always thought you were silently judging them.

  Just think of all the reasons you’ve given others to be glad you’re gone.

  But as you approach the end of your life, it can be useful to stop and consider that even your friends and family, who you’ve loved and who’ve loved you, may well see your passing as a kind of relief.

  So why strive to live that little bit longer?

  Importantly, don’t hold this against them, think well of them, be kind. Don’t view death as something that’ll tear you away from them but rather die peacefully, slip away. Nature brought you all together and now, nature is untying the knot.

  I’m leaving my family and friends. It’s not that I’m being dragged off against my will. There’s no need to resist, it’s just another act of nature.

  37. Ask yourself

  Whenever you see someone do something, ask ‘What’s their purpose?’ But first, ask yourself the same question.

  38. So much for the flesh

  Don’t forget, it’s your inner thoughts that make you do what you do. This is your core self.

  Don’t get confused between this and the body, that fleshy shell that stops your organs spilling on the street.

  The body is just a tool. Without the mind to make everything happen as it should, it’s no more use than a writer’s keyboard, a baker’s spatula or a taxi driver’s satnav.

  16

  The Eleventh Book

  ‘While other people may try to stop you following the paths of reason and doing the right thing, you don’t have to let them succeed. Nor do you have to allow them to prevent you acting towards them with generosity and kindness.’

  1. What does it all mean?

  What does it mean to be a rational human?

  Well, it means being able to look within yourself. It means being able to change and develop to be the best version of you. It means enjoying the results of having the most evolved mind in the animal kingdom. It means focusing on the right things no matter what stage of life you’re at.

  It’s not like a TV series which, if suddenly cut short, leaves everything up in the air. Your inner self should have done everything it needs to so that, if your personal show is cut short, you leave nothing unfinished.

  A rational person can look at things from the perspective of the wider universe. They can project forward into eternity and understand that everything is part of a larger, cosmic cycle of life, death and change.

  They understand that, at a fundamental level, we’ll see nothing our parents haven’t seen before us. Likewise, our kids won’t see anything truly new. It doesn’t matter whether you live to just 40 – if you’ve paid attention to what matters, you’ll have seen everything you’ll ever need to see. Because it’s all the same.

  Finally, a rational person will love their fellow humans. They’ll value truth and modesty. Above everything else, they’ll have self-respect. And because of all this, they’ll value justice and fairness.

  2. How enchanting

  It’s easy to get swept away with others’ performances, whether it’s singing, acting, political speeches or the perfect tweet. But you don’t have to be.

  Break each down to its separate elements – the lyrics, the tune, the individual carefully chosen words. Ask yourself, ‘Is this influencing me?’

  It might be embarrassing if the answer is yes. Are you so easily swayed?

  Do this for everything you see and hear. Split everything up into its component parts and you’ll find it's easier to disengage your emotions and re-engage your reason.

  3. Ready or not?

  It’s a wonderful thing to be ready at the hour of your death for whatever it brings – whether that’s pure nothingness, the disp
ersal of your atoms, even an afterlife of some sort.

  But this readiness must be the result of an active decision. It can’t just be because you want to stick your tongue out at the forces of conformity.

  It should be because you’ve thought about it, deliberated and resisted the urge to descend into petty dramatics.

  4. Unselfish rewards

  Have I acted unselfishly? If so, I already have my reward. Keep this thought front and centre and you’ll stay the path.

  5. Your job

  Ah, that opening dinner party question, ‘What do you do?’

  The real answer is: Be good.

  But how can you do this if you haven’t truly understood how the universe and the people around you really work?

  6. It’s a tragedy

  The origin of drama was tragedy – a way of showing all the ups and downs of life (particularly the downs). It was a reminder that shit happens all the time.

  We still enjoy this kind of thing on TV today. And since we can enjoy it on the screen, why should we freak out when it happens in real life?

  After all, these performances show that people can endure almost anything – despite being driven to outbursts of the ‘For fuck’s sake!’ variety.

  They also give us some useful quotes:

  ‘Sometimes, it’s just easier to abide than it is to struggle.’ The Dude in The Big Lebowski.

  ‘Get busy living or get busy dying.’ Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.

  ‘The things you own end up owning you.’ Tyler Durden in Fight Club.

  And there’s a bunch more if you look for them.

  Following on from tragedy came comedy (in the original sense). This gave us a good telling off for our vanity, sparing no blushes.