EastDream Posted December 28, 2010 (edited) I read about tao that one of its greatest attributes was the enjoyment and appreciation of nature and solitude. And I get it, makes sense. But it seems like it is also the most painful aspect of being that way...what do u do if the world around you is just constantly bombastic and loud?  What is the value and point of having this "wonderful" attribute if it is also the constant source of pain and irritation? I hope this makes sense....someone please respond  The soft always overcomes the hard, so why is the hard overcoming the soft in this case? Edited December 28, 2010 by EastDream Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otis Posted December 29, 2010 The soft always overcomes the hard, so why is the hard overcoming the soft in this case? That is: with great patience, the soft overcomes the hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otis Posted December 29, 2010 I read about tao that one of its greatest attributes was the enjoyment and appreciation of nature and solitude. And I get it, makes sense. But it seems like it is also the most painful aspect of being that way...what do u do if the world around you is just constantly bombastic and loud? Â What is the value and point of having this "wonderful" attribute if it is also the constant source of pain and irritation? I hope this makes sense....someone please respond BTW, the "enjoyment and appreciation of nature and solitude" has nothing to do with the "pain and irritation". The former is an ability to enjoy silence, the latter is the inability to endure noise. Those two abilities are not (necessarily) connected, and have to be developed separately. Â It is also not a question of "hard vs. soft", but rather "hard vs. brittle". "Soft" is not just "not being hard with others"; it's also "not taking offense at other's hardness". Soft is when you give up being brittle/fragile, when you no longer take offense at the hard. Â The only way to give up being brittle, is to practice accepting hardness! If your family environment is too overwhelming to practice in, hopefully you can find another environment that offers many of the same challenges, but hopefully without so much personal entanglement. But if you don't practice, and just find ways of avoiding those situations, then you won't gain mastery over them; you'll just have more limitations in your life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
