Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Things change fast, it’s something I should really come to terms with.

I think I’ve let myself get caught up in more then one illusion of the future recently, and I need to step back and take things day by day. I have a few quotes that I have liked the moment I heard them, and are pretty good:

“We suffer from the illusion that we can control things around us” -Daniel’s Dad

“One more road to cross, one more risk to take, gotta live my life like its one more move to make” -DMX

I have found in the past that I have been most satisfied when I accepted the least control over situations. I think this is highlighted when I felt no dissapointment, anger or frustration when I wrecked my car a year ago. I think it would serve me well to cultivate this acceptance and enjoy things as they are now, while keeping an open mind toward future opportunities and future failures.

There is a chinese proverb that I can paraphrase which attempts to illustrate this acceptance of the world around you through examples:

Old man Wang was a broadminded man. He owned some land and a farm and all the villagers respected him. One day his best horse ran away, so all of the villagers came to console him. He simply said “There is no reason to be upset, how can I know this is bad news?”
A week later the horse returned with a mate, this mate was an exceptional stalion of great worth. All of the villagers came to congradulate him, but he just said “There is no reason to celebrate, how can I know this is good news?”
Old man Wang had a son who loved to ride horses, and this new stalion was an excelent horse to ride. One day the son went riding and fell off, breaking his leg. All of the villagers came to console him again, and this time he said “Now you see you cannot judge something as a good or bad event so easily”
That same month, China went to war with nomadic invaders, a bloody war costing the lives of many fine chinese men. Old man Wang’s son did not have to serve because of his broken leg, and thus was spared.

While it is not a logical arguement, I feel that it is a nice way to look at things. And by being broadminded about everything, you are much less apt for dissapointment, while being able to seize successful opportunities.

I hadn’t really thought of a new years resolution, but I think maintaining a more broadminded perspective might be a good one. But hey, it might not, gotta stay broadminded ^_^