Taoist Wisdom For Inner Peace

This video explores some ways of attaining inner peace, using the wisdom found in Taoism, an ancient Chinese philosophical and religious tradition.

Summary of Lessons

1) Don’t stand on your tiptoes

2:01 “Those who stand on tiptoes do not stand firmly. Those who rush ahead don’t get very far. Those who try to outshine others dim their own light.”

2) Let softness overcome the hard

3:00 “Water is the softest and most yielding substance. Yet nothing is better than water for overcoming the hard and rigid, because nothing can compete with it.”

4:03 “Being soft also means being flexible. People that are too hard and brittle cannot adapt to new situations easily are often subdued to external circumstances.”

3) Appreciate uselessness

5:35 “When it comes to humans, we’ll see that when we don’t possess may desirable traits, we’re often saved from a lot of trouble. So if you aren’t very gifted, don’t sweat over it. Instead, be happy, because gifted people are often the first ones that get exploited.”

4) Don’t strive but flow along

7:05 “A healthier way would be to stop striving and let go, and when we flow along with the current of life, we’ll find out that many things will come to us, and that it doesn’t take much (in a materialistic sense) to be satisfied.”

7:29 “By following a more natural course, we will most likely end up in places that are more in agreement with our own nature. The act of striving often blinds us to the things that already are; the possibilities that life presents.”

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