Welcome to The Stoic Ledger, a daily money meditation from one of the Stoic sages.

15/365: Marcus Aurelius on opinions and perspectives

Money is but a construct rooted in perception and belief. Its value is constructed not from any intrinsic quality, but from the collective agreement of society, much like how opinions gain weight, and an apparent truthfulness, through shared acceptance, or the herd mentality. 

What we see as external “wealth” is a projection of our own mental frameworks, influenced by cultural norms, personal experiences, and societal conditioning, rather than absolute truth.

Our emotional and cognitive relationships with money are shaped by a lifetime of subjective perspectives. Whether money is viewed as a source of security, power, or stress depends on our psychological narratives and past experiences. 

This is how our perception of money is not an objective reality, but a reflection of our inner worlds.

Opinion and perspective, just as Marcus Aurelius suggested.