“Who is wise? He that learns from everyone
Who is powerful? He that governs his passions
Who is rich? He that is content
Who is that? Nobody”
- Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1755
Who?
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“Who is wise? He that learns from everyone
Who is powerful? He that governs his passions
Who is rich? He that is content
Who is that? Nobody”
- Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1755
Previous post: Sprezzatura
Next post: Not Noticing
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Nobody I know at least.
The stereotypical image of a buddhist monk comes to mind, but do you think there are people who fit the above criteria?
I like the third line. I think a whole chapter in econ was dedicated to the idea of “endless wants” but that line really hits home.
I think you missed the point DCP. The last line isn’t a quip or an observation. It’s a reminder to be humble and know that no matter how far you’ve come, you’re still human, and that you can still go further. No one is perfect, but that’s no reason not to strive for perfection.
I read the last line as a reminder to let go. You will never be all of those things all the time, so don’t try to will yourself to do so.
It seems like sometimes theres a point where striving harder – at least in the conventional sense, involving your will – doesn’t help you get where you want to go.
There’s this little quip that goes something like:
Q- Well, so what am I supposed to do now?
A- You do not do.
More eloquently stated:
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.
“A good athlete can enter a state of body-awareness in which the right stroke or the right movement happens by itself, effortlessly, without any interference of the conscious will. This is a paradigm for non-action: the purest and most effective form of action. The game plays the game; the poem writes the poem; we can’t tell the dancer from the dance.”
Are you reading malcolm gladwell?
well,
the new site look dosent show text in windows propertyl it is all mashed up , you best be fixin’ to do somthing bout that