from Verse Thirty-Seven
Like a bowl of water, the vital spirit in human beings is hard to clarify and easy to muddle.
~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
One of the most amazing aspects of this life is how the briefest of distractions can turn a routine or successful moment into a failure or, even worse, a tragedy. One second everything is going along fine and dandy; the next second all hell has broken loose!
To offer one example, consider the number of fatal vehicle accidents that are caused by one driver losing their concentration for just a moment. This could be caused by talking on a cell phone, spilling coffee on themselves, daydreaming or yelling at the kids in the backseat. Up until that moment, the driver is fully aware and focused. Then their attention shifts elsewhere and a horrific crash ensues.
We each have moments like this everyday, though most do not involve vehicles and the loss of life. They can occur while talking with another in a conversation or while we're engaged in a productive activity or in thousands of routine ways. Simply put, we humans find it hard to keep ourselves focused on the matter at hand.
It only takes a flicker of time to muddle the water.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
To offer one example, consider the number of fatal vehicle accidents that are caused by one driver losing their concentration for just a moment. This could be caused by talking on a cell phone, spilling coffee on themselves, daydreaming or yelling at the kids in the backseat. Up until that moment, the driver is fully aware and focused. Then their attention shifts elsewhere and a horrific crash ensues.
We each have moments like this everyday, though most do not involve vehicles and the loss of life. They can occur while talking with another in a conversation or while we're engaged in a productive activity or in thousands of routine ways. Simply put, we humans find it hard to keep ourselves focused on the matter at hand.
It only takes a flicker of time to muddle the water.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
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