It’s true. As Marcus Aurelius reminded himself, today you will meet jealous people. Selfish people. Mean people. Shameless people. Even stupid people. 

It can be easy to get the wrong idea, though. Especially when you’re taking guidance from Marcus’s writings. Because, yes, such people do exist and always have existed. And yes, if you ever find yourself in an exalted position like Marcus, there will be a disproportionate number of those people around you on a regular basis. But it’s important to remember that in the normal world—in our world—most people are not those people. 

As the wonderful children’s book Most People by Michael Leannah reminds us, most people love to laugh and smile. Most people love to see other people laugh and smile too. Most people are good people. 

In one of Marcus’s most famous passages, he indirectly confirms this is true. After bumping into a particularly frustrating person, he asks himself, “Is a world without frustrating people possible?” No, he realizes. So understand that this is just one of that allotted number and let that give you some solace, he says. 

But that’s the trick, don’t you see? This only provides solace if you understand that such people are the minority. That most people are like you. Or at a minimum, most people are at least trying to be like you. 

That’s one of the best lines in Most People as well. “A person who is frowning and mad, or sad, or mean is like a sour grape in a bunch of sweet grapes. That person would almost always rather be happy, smiling and laughing.” 

You need to know that. 

If you want to read Most People, you can grab a copy from Ryan’s new bookshop The Painted Porch. You can also grab a copy of Meditations too, either online or in person. Support indie retail if you can!

P.S. This was originally sent on May 27, 2021. Sign up today for the Daily Stoic’s email and get our popular free 7-day course on Stoicism.