From "The Tao Of Pooh" By Benjamin Hoff
"You complain that your tree is not valuable as lumber, but you could make use of the shade it provides, rest under its sheltering branches, and stroll beneath it, admiring its character and appearance. Since it would not be endangered by an axe, what could threaten its exhistence? It is useless to you only because you want to make it into something else and do not use it in its proper way."
In other words, everything has its own place and function. That applies to people, although many don't seem to realize it, stuck as they are in the wrong job, the wrong marriage, or the wrong house. When you know and respect your own inner nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong. One man's food is often another man's poison, and what is glamourous and exciting to some can be a dangerous trap to others.
and then, a little later:
Now that we know the principle, we can look at its applications. As we have likely recognized by now, no two snowflakes, trees or animals are alike. No two people are the same, either. Everything has its own inner nature. Unlike other forms of life, though, people are easily led away from what's right for them, because people have brain, and brain can be fooled. Inner nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled, but many people do not look at it or listen to it, and consequently, do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect for themselves and are therfore easily influenced by others.
But, rather than be carried along by circumstances and manipulated by those who can see the weaknesses and behavior tendencies that we ignore, we can work with our own characteristics and be in control of our own lives. The way of self-reliance starts with recognizing who we are, what we've got to work with, and what works best for us.
and later still:
Sooner or later, we are bound to discover some things about ourselves that we don't like, but, once we see they're there, we can decide what we want to do with them. Do we want to get rid of them completely, change them into other things, or use them in beneficial ways? The last two approaches are often especially useful, since they avoid head-on conflict, and therefore minimize struggle. Also, they allow those transformed characteristics to be added to the list of things we have that help us out.
In a similar manner, instead of struggling to erase what are refferred to as negative emotions, we can learn to use them in positive ways. We could describe the principle like this: while pounding on the piano keys may produce noise, removing them doesn't exactly further the creation of music.
So, rather than work against ourselves, all we need to do in many cases is to point our weaknesses or unpleasant tendencies in a different direction than we have been.
In other words, everything has its own place and function. That applies to people, although many don't seem to realize it, stuck as they are in the wrong job, the wrong marriage, or the wrong house. When you know and respect your own inner nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong. One man's food is often another man's poison, and what is glamourous and exciting to some can be a dangerous trap to others.
and then, a little later:
Now that we know the principle, we can look at its applications. As we have likely recognized by now, no two snowflakes, trees or animals are alike. No two people are the same, either. Everything has its own inner nature. Unlike other forms of life, though, people are easily led away from what's right for them, because people have brain, and brain can be fooled. Inner nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled, but many people do not look at it or listen to it, and consequently, do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect for themselves and are therfore easily influenced by others.
But, rather than be carried along by circumstances and manipulated by those who can see the weaknesses and behavior tendencies that we ignore, we can work with our own characteristics and be in control of our own lives. The way of self-reliance starts with recognizing who we are, what we've got to work with, and what works best for us.
and later still:
Sooner or later, we are bound to discover some things about ourselves that we don't like, but, once we see they're there, we can decide what we want to do with them. Do we want to get rid of them completely, change them into other things, or use them in beneficial ways? The last two approaches are often especially useful, since they avoid head-on conflict, and therefore minimize struggle. Also, they allow those transformed characteristics to be added to the list of things we have that help us out.
In a similar manner, instead of struggling to erase what are refferred to as negative emotions, we can learn to use them in positive ways. We could describe the principle like this: while pounding on the piano keys may produce noise, removing them doesn't exactly further the creation of music.
So, rather than work against ourselves, all we need to do in many cases is to point our weaknesses or unpleasant tendencies in a different direction than we have been.