translate freely
Personal feeling
People are weak when they are alive and stiff after death. All plants and animals in the world are weak when they grow up, but when they die, they all become withered and stiff.
From this perspective, anything that becomes more and more rigid is a sign that it is about to lose its vitality.
Think about it carefully, this truth can really cause us to think in many places in our lives.
"I really envy you for knowing so much knowledge."
"You can also! Read more books and you will naturally learn a lot. "
"No, I can't let myself read quietly!"
"I really envy you for being so creative."
"You can also! Try different ways of thinking, and slowly you will have new ideas. "
"No, we can't do it like you. This method has been used very maturely, and we are too lazy to change it! "
"I envy your team for being so energetic."
"You can also! Do more group building activities, do more training, and build your own corporate culture! "
"Without energy, how can we have so much leisure time to think so much? That's it! "
How many people are rigid in such self-denial.
When people are used to living in a fixed pattern, they are unwilling to change it. While admiring others' passionate innovation, they also find various reasonable excuses for their complacency.
Life either completes various beautiful leaps in the process of constantly trying to change, or becomes rigid and decadent in unchanging habits.
No matter what you think, your body is the same.
I took a body shaping course. During the training of this course, I deeply felt the terrible deterioration of a person's physical function.
When I was studying, I was thin and flexible, and I was good at all kinds of sports, except for hanging on various sports equipment almost all day in class. Besides skipping rope, kicking shuttlecock and bungee jumping, I can run long-distance, sprint and marathon, and I can report the numbers when the teacher wants to take the exam. It can not only roll on the sling for several hours, but also turn the hula hoop from the neck to the feet at will, and then turn it from the feet to the neck to rotate; Table tennis is played every day, and aerobics and dancing are often danced, not to mention a horse. At that time, I was full of energy, and in my father's words, I was a naughty monkey.
With the passage of time, more and more heavy study work has poured into our lives, and we can no longer exercise so carefree. The only exercise that can be maintained gradually is walking. I always feel that I have a good foundation and good physical condition.
Last year I went on a business trip and stayed in a hotel. There are mirrors everywhere in the hotel bathroom, and you can see your body from all angles, so that you really see the fat on your back and side. At that moment, I suddenly realized how disappointing my body was.
From then on, I suddenly had a strange panic in my heart.
Before the new year, one day I went for a walk in the park alone and suddenly wanted to run. After a few minutes, I felt that my physical endurance was exhausted.
When I pay more attention to my body, I find that my body is not as flexible as before, and I can't even control a little difficult dance movements. The body is getting heavier and heavier, and physical activities are becoming more and more inflexible. As a result, the physical quality is getting worse and worse, and the figure is slowly beginning to be less straight.
Is this telling me that aging is coming?
After the new year, I saw the advertisement of my friend's gym, and I signed up without hesitation. As a result, the first day I went to the training room made me realize the seriousness of my degradation.
I also practiced yoga two years ago. At that time, many yoga poses could be easily completed. It is extremely difficult now, and the toughness of ligaments has deteriorated miserably. Every stretch seems to tear my body, and my heart hurts more.
Is this aging? Is this the result of self-abandonment? I began to realize that my grandparents once said that their old arms and legs could not stand the toss.
When I am training in the training room, I always hear the sound of heartbreaking pain, but after a period of training, I gradually find that my physical fitness has improved, my skin has decreased, and my body has become much softer, which is directly higher than before.
In this training, I understand that human beings may not be able to completely resist the forces of nature and gradually get old, but we can try our best to slow down the speed of ossification through constant self-cultivation.
We need to keep our body "soft" through constant training, and we also need to keep our mind "soft" through constant attempts.
Once you start to give up yourself, deny yourself and make excuses for your unchanging, the rigid road of your life has already begun, and what awaits you is slow degradation and aging.
Only if we can keep this "softness" that can make our life full of vitality can we live a passionate life forever.
People are weak and uncontroversial when they are young, and have strong vitality when they grow up. When they grow up, they are strong, but because of all kinds of competition in life, they begin to get old.
Weak grass shakes with the wind when the typhoon comes, but it doesn't hurt at all, while tall and strong trees are often broken when they confront the forces of nature in the strong wind.
In the last article, I also cited many examples to discuss the reason that the weak wins the strong.
Through so many cases, things that make people feel stronger are more likely to be destroyed in the face of powerful forces.
A person's temper is too strong. When getting along with others, he is easily excited by stubbornness and conceit when facing differences.
If a country is too powerful, it is easy for it to become powerful and arrogant and think it is invincible.
This is precisely the easiest place to fail, because I feel good about myself, on the one hand, I lose my awe of people, on the other hand, I easily lose my vigilance, but I will face failure.
Lao Tzu warned everyone here not to bully others by force. The more we feel good about ourselves, the easier it is to make mistakes.
After reading this chapter, I briefly reviewed the places where "softness" was mentioned in previous chapters.
In the thirty-sixth chapter, Lao Tzu first mentioned "the weak is stronger than the strong", telling people a truth: extremes meet, and prosperity will decline.
Lao Tzu said in Chapter 40 that "the weak can use Tao".
Weakness itself is the initial state of the development of all things, and it can also be the attitude that is ultimately pursued and maintained. Weakness can be an attitude or a way of life. Even the greatest wisdom in the world.
In chapter 43, Lao Tzu once again talked about "the world is soft and the world is strong" and talked about the benefits of weakness. The softness and goodness in thought can produce powerful force and promote the driving effect.
Chapter 52 says "keep soft and be stronger", and deeply discusses that a soul that can keep soft forever is a truly powerful soul.
In this chapter, Lao Tzu lists some things that are common in nature and contrast with "softness" and "strength", trying to let people know the difference between staying weak and pursuing strength in the simplest and understandable way.
The last sentence, "So, strength is the second, weakness is the first", expresses Laozi's admiration for this gesture of combining rigidity with softness.
There are so many discussions about softness in Tao Te Ching, whether based on the life and death, the development law of things, or the attitude and mentality of treating people, the benefits of softness are analyzed incisively and vividly from the aspects of Tao, law, technique and potential.
Finally, I just want to tell the rulers that only by being good at governing the country and diplomacy can the world be harmonious and the people live and work in peace. At the same time, it also tells people all over the world that gentleness and kindness are conducive to the peace and happiness of life.
It's amazing that you work so hard.
Why is "softness" more vital?
A "soft" body can keep us alive, a "soft" thought can keep us accepting, a "soft" attitude can make us be kind to others, and a "soft" heart can make us face all kinds of difficulties and tolerance in the world.
The "softness" of nature is an instinct of life and has the most primitive vitality; The "softness" cultivated is a difficult choice and has strong vitality.
This kind of vitality will give us the ability to control life and control life.
May you keep it as much as possible in your life!