“A crooked tree lives its own life, but a straight tree is turned into wood.”
- Chinese Proverb
The idea behind this proverb comes most clearly from the writings of Zhuangzi, one of the central thinkers of Daoism in the 4th century BCE.
In the Zhuangzi, a famous story tells of a large, twisted tree that carpenters ignore because its wood is unsuitable for construction. Precisely because it is considered “useless,” the tree is never cut down and survives to live out its natural life.
Zhuangzi uses the tree as a metaphor for human life. In Daoist thought, being “useful” by conventional standards can make a person vulnerable to exploitation, control, and exhaustion. Those who are unconventional, overlooked, or unwilling to fit society’s expectations may instead preserve their freedom and live on their own terms.
The girls helped a dolphin that had swum up to their boat seeking aid🐬
It was bleeding due to remoras attached to its body.
The dolphin waited calmly for them to finish, then joyfully leapt out of the water several times.
Its pod was nearby the whole time.
Cuteness of the day😊
The faces they make when they snap out of it after all the animals get totally duped by the illusion and descend into total panic are hilarious lololol 🐈⬛
INSTEAD OF WATCHING AN HOUR OF NETFLIX TONIGHT.
This 1 hour Stanford lecture by Joel Peterson will teach you more about negotiation and getting what you want than most people learn in years.
Bookmark it and give it an hour, no matter what.