Captain Michael: Every time we decide what something is, we also decide what it is not.
A block of wood becomes a chair.
Useful.
Beaut
Every time we decide what something is, we also decide what it is not.
A block of wood becomes a chair.
Useful.
Beautiful, perhaps.
But it will never become a bowl.
That is part of the Taoist idea of pu — the uncarved block.
Before the carving begins, possibility remains.
I think we do an awful lot of carving in our own lives.
“I’m not good at that.”
“I’m too old to start this.”
“That’s just the kind of person I am.”
“I could never do what they do.”
With enough repetition, those sentences stop sounding like opinions.
They become descriptions.
Then identities.
And eventually, walls.
Some of the deepest cuts in us were made by other people.
But if we are not careful, we spend the rest of our lives holding the chisel.
Maybe we don’t need to become somebody new.
Maybe we need to stop insisting upon such a narrow definition of who we already are.
There may still be things we haven’t tried.
Places we haven’t gone.
People we haven’t met.
Parts of ourselves we haven’t discovered simply because we decided long ago they couldn’t possibly belong to us.
The uncarved block isn’t empty.
It is full of things that haven’t happened yet.
And as long as we’re still here, perhaps we ought to leave a little wood uncarved.
Who knows what it might become?
#Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #Pu, #TheUncarvedBlock, #Possibility, #Wisdom, #SelfDiscovery, #Philosophy, #LifeAfloat, #SailingLife, #CaptainMichael
Captain Michael: Every time we decide what something is, we also decide what it is not. A block of wood becomes a chair. Useful. Beautifu
Every time we decide what something is, we also decide what it is not. A block of wood becomes a chair. Useful. Beautiful, perhaps. But it will never become a bowl. That is part of the Taoist idea of pu — the uncarved block. Before the carving begins, possibility remains. I think we do an awful lot of carving in our own lives. “I’m not good at that.” “I’m too old to start this.” “That’s just the kind of person I am.” “I could never do what they do.” With enough repetition, those sentences stop sounding like opinions. They become descriptions. Then identities. And eventually, walls. Some of the deepest cuts in us were made by other people. But if we are not careful, we spend the rest of our lives holding the chisel. Maybe we don’t need to become somebody new. Maybe we need to stop insisting upon such a narrow definition of who we already are. There may still be things we haven’t tried. Places we haven’t gone. People we haven’t met. Parts of ourselves we haven’t discovered simply because we decided long ago they couldn’t possibly belong to us. The uncarved block isn’t empty. It is full of things that haven’t happened yet. And as long as we’re still here, perhaps we ought to leave a little wood uncarved. Who knows what it might become? #Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #Pu, #TheUncarvedBlock, #Possibility, #Wisdom, #SelfDiscovery, #Philosophy, #LifeAfloat, #SailingLife, #CaptainMichael
Every time we decide what something is, we also decide what it is not. A block of wood becomes a chair. Useful. Beautiful, perhaps. But it will never become a bowl. That is part of the Taoist idea of pu — the uncarved block. Before the carving begins, possibility remains. I think we do an awful lot of carving in our own lives. “I’m not good at that.” “I’m too old to start this.” “That’s just the kind of person I am.” “I could never do what they do.” With enough repetition, those sentences stop sounding like opinions. They become descriptions. Then identities. And eventually, walls. Some of the deepest cuts in us were made by other people. But if we are not careful, we spend the rest of our lives holding the chisel. Maybe we don’t need to become somebody new. Maybe we need to stop insisting upon such a narrow definition of who we already are. There may still be things we haven’t tried. Places we haven’t gone. People we haven’t met. Parts of ourselves we haven’t discovered simply because we decided long ago they couldn’t possibly belong to us. The uncarved block isn’t empty. It is full of things that haven’t happened yet. And as long as we’re still here, perhaps we ought to leave a little wood uncarved. Who knows what it might become? #Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #Pu, #TheUncarvedBlock, #Possibility, #Wisdom, #SelfDiscovery, #Philosophy, #LifeAfloat, #SailingLife, #CaptainMichael
