I’ve been re-reading Tao Te Ching the past weeks and came across a few lines that resonate with me deeply:
“
He who rushes ahead, doesn’t go far.
He who tries to shine, dims his own light.
He who defines himself, can’t know who he really is.
He who has power over others, can’t empower himself.
He who clings to his work, will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.
“
The book is so classic and it’s not taught in the Chinese schools. How many important things are actually not taught in the elite schools and how ridiculous we’re still judging ones’ capabilities from the school he/she comes from and what badges he/she wears.
We seems afraid to talk about death when it comes to human: Dying seems always be a bad thing and what people should feel regret or sorry about. The multi-millionaire Bryan Johnson even named its new venture – “Don’t Die” related to longevity and consumer health, while many people who met him offline the screen in California – he looks just like a normal 47 years old.. We choose to live in the fear of dying and the lying to ourselves that death is far away from us.
The past few months, I watched our flowers and plants on the balcony every morning dies and reborn dozens of time and taking care of them daily- removing the dry and dead parts of them by making the path for new branches & blooms. It seems all living creatures are going through multiple dying process before reaching the real finite line – where we measure its as ones “eternal leaving” to the world.
But are they really left or is it we can’t see or feel it- making its eternal death?
Why I’m getting sensitive to the topic of “dying” the past week? Maybe it’s the sign of “spring” reminding me of the contrast of it – “winter” happening only a week ago.
Maybe it’s the inflammation combat ‘m feeling inside of me during the 3 days pause of a weird unwell.
Maybe it’s the current strong desire of reborn, one must embrace the death in many angles of ourselves in order to live in the new horizon & baseline.
I changed the habits on how I sleep 8 months ago, and it gradually impacts on how I train daily and ultimately right now- my body reminds me that it’s time to watch how I should eat, dragging me back to the kitchen and adopt simple cooking & self-care. The rhythm of changes also impacts how I worked- I significantly reduced the travel/social impulse the past few months, realizing that those actually cared are just a handful of quality ones, especially those sits around us.
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