Meditations · Part 1, Your own mind · Idea 2 of 12

The Retreat Inside

Marcus Aurelius on finding quiet in your own mind. From Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, about 175 AD.

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The whole story is in Counsel.
About a minute.
A painting for The Retreat Inside

Where it comes from.

In 162, a year into his reign, Marcus Aurelius took four days off at Alsium, a seaside resort near Rome.

He could not switch off. A war had just begun in the East. His old teacher Fronto teased him in a letter. Had he gone all that way only to go hungry with the sea in view?

3 more screens in the appThe rest of the story, and where it turns up in your own week.
The idea in short

In 162, Marcus Aurelius took a seaside holiday at Alsium and could not stop working, and his teacher Fronto teased him for it. Years later his notebook said that people seek retreats in the country and by the sea, but the quietest place to retire to is your own mind, stocked with a few short rules.

The quietest place you can reach in a hurry is inside you. Practical advice: keep three short sentences that steady you, and go back to them on hard days.

Well established · checked against 4 sources

Make it yours.

Make it your step

Write three short sentences that calm you, and keep them on your phone.

Ask your council

“I can’t switch off even on vacation. How do I find quiet when I can’t get away?”

Sources.

  1. The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Marcus Aurelius (Project Gutenberg), 1862The text
  2. The Correspondence of Marcus Cornelius Fronto, vol. 2, translated by C. R. Haines, Marcus Cornelius Fronto (Loeb Classical Library), 1920The text
  3. Marcus Aurelius, Wikipedia, 2026
  4. Marcomannic Wars, Wikipedia, 2026

Meditations, in 12 ideas.

  1. 1
    Take Back the VerdictMarcus Aurelius on why the hurt is in your judgment, not the thing
  2. 2
    The Retreat InsideMarcus Aurelius on finding quiet in your own mind
  3. 3
    Use the RoadblockMarcus Aurelius on turning what blocks you into help
  4. 4
    You Can Only Lose TodayMarcus Aurelius on why the present is the only thing you can lose
  5. 5
    Get Up for the WorkMarcus Aurelius on getting out of bed when you don’t want to
  6. 6
    Stop Debating, Be ItMarcus Aurelius on being good instead of talking about it
  7. 7
    Don’t Get Dyed PurpleMarcus Aurelius on not letting power change you
  8. 8
    Look Down From AboveMarcus Aurelius on seeing your worries from a height
  9. 9
    Expect the ShamelessMarcus Aurelius on dealing with people who behave badly
  10. 10
    Don’t Become What Hurt YouMarcus Aurelius on the best kind of revenge
  11. 11
    List Who Made YouMarcus Aurelius on naming what you owe to each person
  12. 12
    Kindness Can’t Be BeatenMarcus Aurelius on why sincere kindness is hard to defeat
PreviousTake Back the Verdict
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The Retreat Inside and the other 11 ideas of Meditations, a minute at a time.

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Every idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.

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