Do things from the external fall upon you and distract you? Give yourself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around. But then you must also avoid being carried about in any direction to learn. For there are also those who have wearied themselves in life by their activity, and yet have no object to which to direct every movement, and in a word, all their thoughts.
Two important things Aurelius is saying here. For one, it's important to not get yanked around by external events. On the other hand, and maybe even more importantly, don't fix distraction with busyness for the sake of being busy. It's important to root your industriousness in purpose.
Basically what he's saying is that you should be anchored in a rational aim, or a clear mission/purpose. In life, especially in modernity, we are inundated with choices, and options. And the answer is neither withdrawal nor blind activity - it is deliberate, principled action which aligns with your mission.
So the greater underlying question - what is your mission?
"[My father] enjoyed, without pretention or self-indulgence, the luxuries that his fortune lavished upon him; but when these were not available, he never seemed to miss them.”
I particularly like this quote because it resonates hard with what many of us in tech and on X are constantly exposed to - a fear of "becoming part of the permanent underclass”
What can we learn from this? Work hard - and enjoy the fruits of one's labor. Feel no shame in doing so. But don't covet what others have - it will never lead to happiness
Better to be content with whatever is available to be enjoyed in the moment, continue progressing steadfastly towards the future, and enjoy the varieties and subtleties of all phases of life!