The View from Above
Imagining one's troubles from a vast cosmic perspective reveals their insignificance and restores equanimity.
Marcus Aurelius repeatedly employed 'the view from above' — imagining looking down on human affairs from a great height or across vast stretches of time. When one sees that empires rise and fall, that all are forgotten, petty personal concerns diminish and virtue appears as the only thing worth pursuing.
Look at the past — empire succeeding empire — and from that, extrapolate the future.
The 'overview effect' reported by astronauts who see Earth from space parallels the cognitive and emotional benefits of this Stoic contemplative practice.
Meditations