"On those mornings you struggle with getting up, keep this thought in mind-I am awakening to the work of a human being. Why then am I annoyed that I am going to do what I'm made for, the very things for which I was put into this world? Or was I made for this, to snuggle under the covers and keep warm? It's so pleasurable. Were you then made for pleasure? In short, to be coddled or to exert yourself?"-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.1
(“아침에 일어나기 힘든 날이 있다면 이런 생각을 떠올려라-나는 인간으로서의 일을 하러 깨어나는 것이다. 왜 내가 이 세상에 존재하는 바로 그 일을 하러 가는 것에 짜증을 내는가? 아니면 내가 이 세상에 존재하는 이유가 이불 속에서 따뜻하게 누워있는 것인가? 그것이 그렇게 즐거운가? 그렇다면 너는 즐거움을 위해 태어났는가? 간단히 말해, 너는 안락함을 위해 태어난 것인가 아니면 자신을 발휘하기 위해 태어난 것인가?”-마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 《명상록》, 5.1)
It's comforting to think that even two thousand years ago the emperor of Rome (who was reportedly a bit of an insomniac) was giving himself a pep talk in order to summon up the willpower to throw the blankets off each morning and get out of bed. From the time we're first sent off to school until we retire, ...
