Meditations (Annotated Edition) | Marcus Aurelius, Robin Waterfield

Why it is included: Written by a Roman Emperor while on military campaigns, this was never meant to be published.

It is a private journal of a man trying to remain good in a world that was often bad. Aurelius practices Stoicism not as a way to suppress emotion, but as a mental fortress.

He constantly reminds himself that he cannot control external events, only his response to them.

As we evolve multiple systems, there will be chaos, anger, and disruption.

Meditations teaches us how to stand firm in our own integrity, refusing to be corrupted by the negativity around us.

It is the discipline of maintaining a "citadel within" that no external circumstance can breach.