Even as a layman, it's been hard watching the stock market yo-yo up and down. One day it's way up, the next day it's way down. In fact, over the past two weeks, the stock market and the proverbial Dow Jones Industrial Average seem to rise and fall each day like the tides here on the Pacific Coast.
I don't pretend to understand all the nuances of stock trading. Any time I tune in CNBC or CNN, the floor of the stock exchange seems to resemble a Chinese fire drill or the Keystone Cops, more than anything else. All I see are traders running around screaming at the top of their lungs and waving slips of paper.
So, while I certainly don't claim to be a stock market expert, I have come to one conclusion. The folks of the Dow could learn a thing or two from the folks of the Tao.
The whole point behind Taoism is to seek harmony and balance -- neither too high nor too low. Taoist thought stresses the need to find the state contentment, not soaring happiness nor the depths of despair. Finally, Taoism teaches to live a disciplined life and not worry so much about outcomes.
Can you imagine a Tao Jones Industrial Average?
I don't pretend to understand all the nuances of stock trading. Any time I tune in CNBC or CNN, the floor of the stock exchange seems to resemble a Chinese fire drill or the Keystone Cops, more than anything else. All I see are traders running around screaming at the top of their lungs and waving slips of paper.
So, while I certainly don't claim to be a stock market expert, I have come to one conclusion. The folks of the Dow could learn a thing or two from the folks of the Tao.
The whole point behind Taoism is to seek harmony and balance -- neither too high nor too low. Taoist thought stresses the need to find the state contentment, not soaring happiness nor the depths of despair. Finally, Taoism teaches to live a disciplined life and not worry so much about outcomes.
Can you imagine a Tao Jones Industrial Average?
Hi again Trey,
ReplyDeleteActually I find the concept works both ways... If you study the stock market; it can teach you about the value of both serenity and patience.
For example, in bad times the market goes down; but it always eventually goes up again.. So the basic idea is 1.try not to panic or force things unnecessarily to go good when they are going bad -(otherwise you are likely to make things worse) and wait for the upswings in life after you have done all you can - with patience.
So in fact stock market traders can in fact teach us much about life!!!
Jon