Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161-180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy (wikipedia).

The work is divided into multiple books. Below is a summary I did of the key ideas in each book:

1. Marcus goes on thanking his friends, family and god for his fortune. He is thankful for his father for letting him live a life without decorations and richness, he thanks his teachers, philosophers, his wife, his mother. He is thankful to god for being born without malformation and with a splendid family. He is thankful for all that happened to him and all that he stayed away from. He concludes that he thinks of himself as flesh, bones and reason which is the ruling part. Life is just a wind that blows, and not a steady one.

2. The second book is a collection of things to remember. The ones that I noted are what follows. "Why should any of there things that happen externally, so much distract thee?". Death is not shameful: if there are gods, they will be kind with you, if there are no gods then there is no point in life. When we die, we only part form this moment, even if we lived for three thousand or as many as ten thousands of years; we are not what we were in the past, so "how should a man part with that which he hath not?".

   The time of a man's life is a point; the substance of it ever flowing, the sense obscure; and the whole composition of the body tending to corruption [..] Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage. Fame after life is no better than oblivion. What is it then that will adhere and follow? Only one thing, philosophy.

3. Do not spend time thinking about things concerning other men: what he said, what he thinks, what he is about; this distracts you from observing yourself; If a man were to ask what you are thinking, answer freely and boldly. Do nothing against the will of others, be neither a great talker nor a great undertaker. Never lament and exclaim, never sigh, never want either solitude or company, live without either desire or fear. Do nothing rashly, remember that no man lives more than the present. Examine and consider all things in life; what is the use of it?. "To be violently drawn and moved by the lusts and desires of the soul, is proper to wild beasts an monsters". Never speak anything contrary to truth.

4. Marcus Aurelius said:

   Consider both how quickly all things that are, are forgotten, and what an immense chaos of eternity was before, and will follow after all things: and the vanity of praise, and the inconsistency and variableness of human judgments and opinions […] For the whole earth is but one point; and of it, this inhabited part of it, is but a very little part; and of this part, how many in number, and what manner of man are they, that will commend thee?

   Objects do not reach the soul and are in continuous change, like an opinion (therefore, not virtuous). Reason is common to all men, then we are all part of a commonweal sharing understanding, reason and law like a city. Remember that after a little while, you and the others will die, as well as your names and memories; who is greedy of credit and reputation after his death should remember that he and everyone holding his memory will die, even if that was not the case, what served this credit to him anyway? . If you take away opinion, no man will think of himself as wrong, then there is no such thing as wrong. Remember the following rules: do nothing but follow what reason is suggesting for the good and benefit of man, be ready to change your mind upon correct rectifications.

   Thou must be like a promontory of the sea, against which though the waves beat continually, yet it both itself stands, and about it are those swelling waves stilled and quieted.

   The life of a main is indifferent compared to the stretch of time. There is an infinite chaos looking backwards and an infinite chaos looking forward, what difference can there be between a life of three days and one of three ages?

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Travel: Stoicism, Index