The Path: A New Way to Think About Everything

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I enjoyed reading about some of the earlier philosophical ideas in Chinese thought and was immediately impressed by how I can slightly see some of it in many of my Chinese friends habits today (though I’m not sure if they are aware of it nor if I’m am just creating associations where none exist…).

Where the Salt Path led next - Penguin Books UK Where the Salt Path led next - Penguin Books UK

Like Zhuangzi, consider the world as if you were a butterfly pretending to be human. In other words, do something today that changes your perspective. Visit a place you have never been to or reconsider a familiar place, try a new food or activity, learn about a new culture, swap daily routines with a friend. How did this mundane experience change your view of your life and the world around you?

Puett argues that we are far more malleable and flexible than we give ourselves credit for. The ancient Chinese understood this. Subscribing to the idea that we have a true self just waiting to be discovered is an example of negative thinking and self-doubt. It is a safe option that allows us to limit ourselves and cling to long-held beliefs. Believing there is one true path, and that we’ve somehow found it, gives us permission to stop trying. Once we stop expanding then we’re living our lives wrong.

The Path: Accelerating Your Journey to Financial Freedom

While we have been told that true freedom comes from discovering who we are at our core, that “discovery” is precisely what has trapped so many of us in the Age of Complacency. We are the ones standing in our own way. It’s because the course challenges all our modern assumptions about what it takes to flourish. This is why Professor Michael Puett says to his students, “The encounter with these ideas will change your life.” As one of them told his collaborator, author Christine Gross-Loh, “You can open yourself up to possibilities you never imagined were even possible.”The argument of the Laozi is that you can always defeat strength through weakness. If you’re in a position of strength, play weakness, and if you’re in a position of weakness, play weakness. Play weakness regardless of your starting position, and that is how you will shift situations in better directions. (Location 1332)