Dere's an ol' man called de MississippiLao Tzu and Chuang Tzu often wrote about how nature, unlike humankind, simply goes about its business according to its internal nature. The metaphor of water often is employed to illustrate their point.
Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be
What does he care if de world's got troubles
What does he care if de land ain't free
Ol' man river, dat ol' man river
Dat ol' man river
He mus' know sumpin', but don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along
~ by Jerome Kern - Oscar Hammerstein II ~
This song -- from the 1927 Broadway Musical "Show Boat" -- underlines the same theme. While men toil and sweat to earn a day's pay, the big ol' river keeps rolling along. It does so regardless of the weather or what's happening around the world. Its internal nature is to flow to the sea and that's what it does day in and day out.
It's an apt lesson for each of us.
To see what other aspects of "pop culture" I've written about, go here.
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