No Need for Haste; Wait Quietly for the Flowers to Bloom

Doctor zhou July 27, 2020

"Summer Reflections"

A thousand books in the home, idly tilling half a plot of field.

My heart's affairs I entrust to the zither, lodging them in this world.

Not striving to be first under heaven, I keep to diligence and frugality.

In the morning I plant a few rows of vegetables; at dusk I read the pharmacopoeia.

Hidden in the apricot grove, I constantly sharpen the sword that saves lives.

Occasionally I pass a mountain temple, not to visit immortals.

The floating world is like a dream; fame and merit are like clouds and smoke.

Fearless and little-anxious, all things move at ease.

— Doodle by Zhou Ergou of eastern Hubei, July 27, 2020

Several thousand books, half a plot of land, and a zither—I do have them. These three already constitute the essentials of self-sufficiency and self-entertainment. There is no such thing as success or failure in life; once one is self-sufficient, one is complete. To live happily in this world, one must keep one's desires in check and not let them exceed one's ability. Those whose desires are too strong and ability insufficient have much worry; those whose ability is sufficient and who can also curb desires and seek little live at ease.

I secretly feel that everything in the world goes wrong because of the word "haste." If one can be unhurried and unflustered, meeting the world with the attitude of quietly waiting for flowers to bloom, then everywhere in the world is a Peach Blossom Spring. If one is eager for quick success, one inevitably suffers the torment of "the suffering of not getting what one seeks." Haste breeds vexation; once vexed, a single leaf blinds the eye so one cannot see Mount Tai, everything seems disagreeable, and one feels a strong sense of frustration.

Mencius said: "I am good at nourishing my vast, flowing qi." I prefer "nourishing my quiet and placid nature." My motto is: "With seeking comes suffering; without desire there is peace. Let conditions go and set things down; let things follow their natural course." I have used this motto as my signature for over ten years without changing it. An attitude toward life that one keeps for ten-plus years becomes a lifelong habit. Holding to this attitude, I have gradually shed the hasty temper of my youth.

Nowadays, in dealing with people and affairs, I am not hasty. Even toward my own child, I can accompany his growth with an attitude of quietly waiting for the flowers to bloom, accepting his imperfections, and slowly cultivating some good habits in him. The best gift I can give him, I think, is to help him develop some good habits.

Just as the best gift my parents gave me in this life was the frugal and diligent habits they helped me form in my early childhood; and the best gift my teacher gave me was the habits of reading, writing and self-reflection he helped me form in my youth. These habits have benefited me endlessly. That I now have a settled life, enough food and clothing, and can "if a day is renewed, renew daily, and again renew daily," constantly improving myself, all comes from these good habits.

The diligent are never in want; the frugal always have enough. If a person can keep to "a day without work is a day without food," and to "a day without reading makes one's face look hateful," and can also cherish blessings and spend thriftily, then he will never be anxious about survival, nor will he bump into walls and act foolishly everywhere through ignorance. Those who seek little, receive enough, and are quick of hand and foot are blessed.

Moreover, because they love labor, their physical constitution will be relatively good; the lazy and the extravagant are the opposite. When I was small, the words my mother repeated most often in my ear were: "Diligent, diligent—there is food and vegetables; lazy, lazy—cold and hungry." The greatest benefit of rural life is that it cultivates habits of diligence and frugality, so I never tire of praising rural life in the most beautiful terms.

Compared with the fast pace of the city, the pace of rural life is much slower. At night, the sky is full of stars, insects chirp; sitting at the doorstep or on the balcony, raising one's head to gaze at the bright moon, a clear breeze drifts by carrying the fragrance of various plants. In such an environment, one's nerves relax imperceptibly. Before one knows it, drowsiness comes; lying down on the bed, one falls asleep without a care. Who can say such a life is not beautiful?

I now live in the city, but I still keep the habits of a country person. I do not make too many things for myself, nor do I force polite pleasantries with people I do not click with; I try to simplify life to the utmost. My home is filled with green plants, and I am still as in the village—hard-working, with few affairs and a tranquil mind. I rise with the sun to work and rest with its setting; nothing is worth worry or haste. I fall asleep quickly and sleep well. Though not free of every illness, my body is indeed very good.

Motivational stuff is very brainwashing. Many people in this world have been made miserable by motivational "positive energy." Driven by all sorts of life goals, they are highly tense and have lost the joy of being human, which is hardly worth it. Long tasks are done over a long life. Those who can keep at it unhurriedly for a lifetime get more of life's true delight than those who, fired up for a moment, charge ahead fiercely.

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