"You have power over your mind -- not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
As a philosopher, Aurelius makes a sacred vow to look inside himself for answers. He quickly advocates for the control of one's mind, through rigorous patience and observance. By acknowledging what one does possesses power over -- the mind -- then one can release the trials of the external world and stop living responsively.
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
As a man prone to the depressive, Aurelius here reveals a precious wisdom. He has found that only the exercise of his thoughts can bring a last happiness. People are contained within their minds, so they must learn to cultivate happiness in their thoughts, to become familiar and comfortable with themselves.
"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
Aurelius is a man of accomplishment, but he sees his greatest achievement as mastery of himself. He was not natively inclined to engagement and challenge, but he learned that those situations reward greatly. And he changed. That's the nature of living he describes here -- change. Rather than devoting his solitary hours to pure contemplation of death, he devotes them to an active interpretation of life.
"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present."
In all his meditations, Aurelius chooses largely not to dwell upon the future. He does not allow worry to exist in his mind without quick and decisive correction. This is perhaps the truest function of meditation, which is designed to bring one into harmony with the present moment.
