Nature as a Moral Prescription

Marcus Aurelius writes in Meditations that we should accept whatever Nature assigns us, the way a patient accepts a prescription from a doctor, trusting that what is given serves our recovery even when it is difficult to swallow. Building on this, we might say: "Nature has prescribed this for me," whether that is heartbreak, joy, illness, or failure. Every experience is an opportunity for growth, and so we can reframe it: Nature prescribed this for my development.

We cannot understand the full complexity of the world, yet we know that whatever takes place belongs to a single harmony, the way a block of stone plays its part in the structure of a pyramid. We must play along with the tune. Just as we accept what a doctor prescribes, we should embrace what Nature delivers, welcoming it as an opportunity to experience, to learn, to grow.

Aurelius frames two reasons to embrace what happens. First, it is happening to us. It has been prescribed for us and therefore pertains to us. Second, by living the experiences the world provides, we attune ourselves to it, displaying fluidity and harmony with the order of things. This is amor fati, love of fate.