Marcus Aurelius, last of the so-called Five Good Emperors, ruled the vast empire of Rome between 161 AD to 180 AD. Widely considered to be the closest, anyone has ever come to Plato’s conception of the ‘Philosopher King’, Aurelius was a practitioner of Stoicism. His philosophical writings, Meditations, has been a source of inspiration to many thinkers, politicians, business executives etc., throughout history.

He wrote Meditations as a source of personal consolation during the the two long military campaigns of his 20-year reign. Comprising of nearly 12 volumes of personal notes, it deals with self-guidance and personal development. He never intended for these writings to be read publicly and thus, Gilbert Murray lauds Aurelius’ capacity

“to write down what was in his heart just as it was, not obscured by any consciousness of the presence of listeners or any striving after effect”.

Marcus Aurelius was certainly not alone in realizing the importance of jotting down the most intimate parts of one’s conscious experience. Writing (or journaling) has provided clarity, precision and sharpness to the thinking of some of the greatest minds. Though a causative relationship cannot be established between the two, a positive correlation can be discerned. And It is not hard to speculate why.