Meditations from Marcus Aurelius - III

I recently read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, a version translated by Gregory Hays.  Aurelius was a Roman emperor during the 2nd century AD.  He was probably the closest example to a "philosopher king" that the world has ever known.  Aurelius was a follower of stoic philosphy which in many ways is quite close to Taoism or Zen Buddhism.  I'm including some of my favorite quotes here:

"All that you see will soon have vanished, and those who see it vanish will vanish themselves, and the ones who reached old age have no advantage over the untimely dead."

"Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life."

"Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time.  The twining strands of fate wove both of them together: your own existence and the things that happen to you."

"Learn to ask of all actions, “Why are they doing that?”  Starting with your own."

"A straightforward, honest person should be like someone who stinks: when you’re in the same room with him, you know it…If you’re honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show in your eyes…It should be audible in your voice, visible in your eyes, like a lover who looks into your face and takes in the whole story at a glance…It should be unmistakeable."