title: The Emperor's Handbook
author/editor: C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks
reviewed by: Don
THE EMPEROR'S HANDBOOK
I have been reading The Emperor's Handbook by C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks. This is a fresh translation of The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. This second century A.D. Roman emperor's writings have been called the very first self- help book, and his ideas are as relevant today as they were in 160 A.D. as this quote illustrates:
Everyone dreams of the perfect vacation ... in the country, by the sea, or in the mountains. You too long to get away and find that idyllic spot, yet how foolish ... when at any time you are capable of finding that perfect vacation in yourself.
Nowhere is there a more idyllic spot, a vacation home more private and peaceful, that in one's own mind, especially when it is furnished in such a way that the merest inward glance induces ease (and by ease I mean the effects of an orderly and well-appointed mind, neither lavish nor crude).
Take this vacation as often as you like, and so charge your spirit. But do not prolong these meditative moments beyond what is necessary to send you back to your work free of anxiety and full of vigor and good cheer.
This need for an "inner vacation" has been recognized and practiced by many of the greatest thinkers and writers in history: Thoreau at Walden Pond, Jesus in the wilderness, Moses on the mountain top, and Hemingway in his studio, long before sunrise.
Where in America today do we find the time and place for this inner, serene vacation? We waken to the incessant ringing of the alarm clock, flip on the TV for snippets of news murders, plane crashes, abuse and fraud injected between scores of shouting advertisements. We proceed to work amidst honking of horns, racing of engines and screeching of tires in automobiles equipped with am/fm/CD /DVD noise-makers amplified through an assortment of woofers and tweeters.
On the week-end 100,000 screaming fans jam the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, or rock concert. Even in houses of worship there is barely a moment of silence between the programmed noise of anthem, homily and electronically amplified calendar of ecclesiastical events. Even shopping for groceries is accompanied by overhead speakers blaring the specials of the day and a shouted cell phone conversation by other shoppers.
It takes specific intention and unflagging effort to take even a ten minute inner vacation. Here are some that have worked for me:
- arise before the alarm and the rest of the household
- in traffic gridlock turn off the radio and close your eyes
- on the way home, pull into a park, or even a parking lot, and go within for ten minutes
My daily routine takes me past a cemetery where I can pull in, drive to the back, shut off the engine and enjoy the perfect silence observed by the residents.
The words of Psalm 46:10 instruct us, "Be still and know…"
Don adds, "I have had some memorable vacations three blocks from home.