Philosophy of Life -- Understanding these few principles in life is not easy

Author: Xia Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: A statement from an Anglo-Catholic bishop: "When I was young, I was filled with endless fantasies, and I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older, I realized that the world would not change, so I decided to narrow my focus and change my country. But it seems that the country cannot be changed either. In my old age, I decided to make a last attempt—I would only change my family, those closest to me. Yet, they did not change either. Now, as my life is drawing to a close, I suddenly realize that if I first change myself and then lead by example, I might change my family. And with their encouragement, I could make our country better, perhaps even change the entire world." This is a statement from an Anglo-Catholic bishop. The bishop understood a truth at the very moment of his death. The bishop was fortunate, at least he understood this truth, as the saying goes: "If you understand the Way at dawn, you can die at dusk." The famous American writer Orison Swett Marden once said: "Even the strongest person cannot escape the influence of their environment." No matter how independent we are, how determined our will is, or how strong our personality is, we are constantly influenced by our surroundings. And if we want to achieve something in the larger environment, we must adapt to it, not the other way around. Carnegie also said: "To live a better life, I must adapt to everything, rather than trying to adjust everything to suit my desires. I must accept my family, my career, and my luck with this attitude." In this world, although we cannot choose our parents, we can choose our life goals; we cannot change our appearance, but we can improve our inner self; we cannot change our surroundings, but we can change ourselves to adapt to them. Let's look at another fable. A crow was planning to fly eastward and encountered a pigeon on the way. Both stopped to rest on a tree. The pigeon saw how hard the crow was working and asked kindly, "Where are you going?" The crow replied indignantly, "Actually, I don't want to leave, but the people here all dislike my voice, so I want to fly to a place where they will be more welcome." The pigeon kindly told the crow, "Don't waste your effort! If you don't change your voice, you won't be welcome no matter where you go." This is indeed the case in reality. If you cannot adapt to the environment, you will constantly run into obstacles. Since we cannot change the environment, the only solution is to change ourselves. P29-30