Duncan Brown

Transcript

SOMETIMES when I need a little pick-me-up, I like to write motivational notes to myself. Remember to breathe. Be grateful for the little things. Why the hell are you still single? There's a guy about 2,000 years ago who also liked to write motivational notes to himself. On everyday topics like relationships and getting out of bed in the morning. The principal difference between he and I is that he was the emperor of Rome. The most powerful person in the world, Marcus Aurelius. His notes were compiled after his death into a book called Meditations.

Now, myself, despite having a rather punchable face, I condone neither war nor imperialism. I do, however, find it difficult not to be impressed by someone with a fairly rammed schedule accidentally writing the most celebrated book on stoic philosophy, specifically on mindset and embracing death. We will come back to Meditations. Now, not to be a downer, but 2025 was by far, hands down, without a doubt, the worst year of my entire life. It all crystallized in one moment as I was visiting my mom's house last spring.

I was sitting down on her L sofa, and she was in front of me lying down in her new chemotherapy hat. I looked to my right, and my 73-year-old aunt was scooting along the floor on her bum because she just been smoked by an electric scooter as she was crossing the street and had stitches and casts all over. I looked to my left, and our family dog, Sam, had just bumped into the wall and was lying down facing the wrong direction because he just had to have his eyes surgically removed and stitched shut.

This was my little crew, and we were down bad. So, why am I dragging you involuntarily into my dark hurricane of despair? Do I want you to cry for me? No. Do I want you to pray for me? No. I want to zero in on an unexpected and unsung hero of this situation. You see, as I was sitting on a beach in Spain, once under the control of Marcus Aurelius, reading Meditations, it hit me like a sack of hammers how to an uncanny degree, there was one individual embodying the values that Marcus Aurelius had written about 2,000 years ago and was unwittingly guiding me through a very difficult time.

It was my scruffy little blind dog, Sam. So, what are these values specifically? One, focus on what you can control and accept what you cannot. Sam is blind. That is a statement of fact that he accepts without a single complaint. He doesn't ask, "Why me?" and he doesn't compare himself to other dogs who can see. At first, he was timid, but every day I see him learning the layout of his world better and better so he can go about his important daily duties.

Focusing on what he can control and accepting what he cannot. And number two, live according to virtue and reason. Marcus Aurelius says that the point of life is to help one another. Sam does not make a lot of money. He does not have any Instagram followers. He doesn't even say too much. He is there for the people around him. He wags his little tail with all his heart, and he brings us joy. In the past, he's volunteered at nursing homes and universities to help bring calm to anxious people, and he'll get back out there again when he can.

So, when I'm old, sitting around talking to whoever will listen, I will say that by living values so pure and persistent that they're still relevant 2,000 years later, a very little dog helped me through a very difficult time. Now, it is impossible for me to know what every person in this room is going through, but it is my hope that he's helped you a little bit, too. Thank you.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.