Marcus had a habit of pulling the camera back… way back.

All those people who burned with ambition, who schemed and raged and lost sleep over slights no one else remembers? Gone. Their victories? Gone. Their grudges? Forgotten before the century turned.

Marcus isn't saying nothing matters; this isn't Nihilism. He's saying that the things we think matter most (reputation, status, winning the argument) tend to evaporate faster than we'd like to admit. The things that actually endure (our character, the way we treated people when it cost us something) are the things we seem to spend the least time worrying about.

It's a useful corrective, especially on a Friday.

We've probably spent some portion of this week anxious about something that, in the vast scope of things, is little more than vapour. If that’s true, it doesn't mean we shouldn't have cared (not at all!). It means we might need to recalibrate how much we cared, or how we went about expressing that care, and whether that energy could have been directed differently… and more in alignment with our role as rational human being and citizen of the Cosmopolis.

In either event, the weekend is ahead… so our week's frustrations are already becoming ashes. Let them. Don’t hold on.

Today's suggestion: Think of something that consumed your attention this week. Ask: "Will this matter in five years?" And, if not, or even if so, examine whether you’re dealing with it appropriate now… if you’re dealing with it as someone in pursuit of an excellent moral character.