Little inspiration from "Zhuangzi": You can be poor, but don't be down and out

Although poverty is an idiom, it contains two meanings. Poverty refers to poverty and difficulty, while downfall refers to decadence and frustration. The economic life can be poor and difficult, but the spiritual level cannot be frustrated and decadent. Looking back on myself, I have been living in poverty. Fortunately, I have never slackened in my pursuit of life.

Let’s continue talking about my best friend. She came here last week and said that my father-in-law has terminal lung cancer. I feel very sad. In any family, it is difficult to accept if one person has a terminal illness. The endless pain of the family , spending a lot of time traveling to the hospital and seeking medical treatment, the inevitable huge financial pressure makes her breathless just thinking about it, but these are not the biggest headaches for her.

The biggest headache is for her husband and his family. My best friend couldn't handle all the pressure at home and all the blind date arrangements. After a few years of dating, the man broke up with her. When she met her current husband, she just let it go. She thought he looked honest and simple, so she got married. As a result, I regret it now!

My best friend said that when we got married, she knew that his family was poor, but she didn’t think it was a big problem because we both grew up in rural areas. However, they were not only poor, but also lazy. They took it for granted that they were poor and lazy, and were full of violence. Negative energy fills the home and surrounding environment. After three years of marriage, my husband can't make big money, and he doesn't like small money. My best friend wants to start a small business, but the whole family is opposed and scornful.

According to her, she ate eggs every day during her confinement period. After that, as long as her husband or mother-in-law cooked, she would only eat white rice with pickles, and occasionally stir-fry vegetables that were very fragrant. Although my family is poor, there is still no shortage of food, but because I am too lazy, I would rather let it rot than cook it. A person who copes with life really cannot be expected to love the people around him.

During the period when I was pregnant and having a baby, I borrowed money to live. When my relatives and friends saw my husband, they stayed away from each other. Naturally, my best friend understood that a person who does not seek change, does not want to make progress, does not want to endure hardship, will only do it. Who will be willing to help you if you keep asking for things from the people around you like a vampire? My best friend wants a divorce. Although she would rather tear down a temple than ruin a marriage, will someone who doesn't change like him be consumed by him for the rest of his life? Marriage is not a matter of hard work making up for one's shortcomings. Only when you meet the right person can you live a happy life.

After studying "Zhuangzi" for such a long time, I saw that Zhuangzi, who was also a poor man, was not overwhelmed by poverty. He would not bend to power and money just because he was poor, nor would he compromise his life just because he was poor. , but poor enough to have dignity, temper, and charisma. So how poor was Zhuangzi? Let’s take a look at some of his basic necessities, food, housing and transportation.

It is said that Zhuangzi was wrapped in a torn burlap clothes and tied with hemp ropes to his tattered shoes with exposed toes, and went to see the king of Wei, because in ancient times, when meeting the king, he always You have to pay attention to your appearance. When King Wei saw Zhuangzi's appearance, he couldn't help but clicked his tongue and said, "Sir, how did you manage to be so miserable?" When Zhuangzi heard this, he became angry, straightened his back and said, "I am poor. It’s not poverty. When a scholar gives up his ideals and can’t persist in practicing his beliefs, that’s called poverty. If his clothes are shabby, it’s just poverty. Isn’t it because I was born at the wrong time? Those apes are so comfortable jumping between the big trees in the mountains! Even the most accurate shooters can't do anything to them. However, once they fall into the short, dense and thorny trees, they must be cautious and cautious in today's world. The monarch is stupid and the ministers are rioting. How can a person like me not be embarrassed? Although his clothes were worn and his appearance was shabby, in the face of the ridicule of the King of Wei, Zhuangzi retorted without losing his aura at all. But no matter how torn the clothes are, they can still cover the body. However, Zhuangzi's poverty has reached the point where it is difficult to open the pot.

Once, Zhuangzi went to the Lord Jianhe to borrow grain. When the Marquis of Jianhe heard that Zhuang Zhou was coming, he gave the intellectuals a warm welcome. Zhuang Zi expressed that he wanted to borrow some grain and would pay it back after he had paid his wages. After hearing this, Marquis Jianhe happily agreed and said, "There is no problem.

Mr. Zhuang Zhou is able to borrow food from me, which in itself means he thinks highly of me! "The Marquis of Jianhe was so happy. Zhuangzi also felt very moved. However, the Marquis of Jianhe immediately expressed his difficulties: "It's not that I don't want to lend you food. I really don't have that much food to lend. - But don't worry! I will have a big income soon. After I receive the tax, I will lend you three hundred gold at once. How about that? When Zhuangzi heard this, he sneered and said, "Let me tell you what I saw when I came here yesterday!" On the way here, I found a carp in the ruts beside the road. It was struggling to death because there was no water. I asked: 'Mr. Fish, what can I do for you? "The fish said: 'Mr. Zhuang Zhou, I am an aquarium from the East China Sea. Unfortunately, I have fallen into this situation. Please get some water and let me survive!' "I said: 'Mr. the fish, your situation is too great. How pitiful, I sympathize with you! I will immediately go to persuade the King of Wu and the King of Yue to dig a canal and divert the water from the Xijiang River to save you. What do you think? "The squid was very angry after hearing my words. It said: 'I have left the sea now and have nowhere to stay. I only need a bucket or a liter of water to survive. I didn't expect you to say such a big thing. What nonsense are you talking about? If you go to divert the water from the Xijiang River, you might as well come to me in the dried fish shop early! '

In such days of hunger, cold, and lack of food and clothing, the best is for your health. It's torture to lose weight, forget it, just hold on and it will be over. The worst thing is that not only are you cold and hungry, but there are also people who will humiliate you.

Zhuangzi, who had no food and clothing, lived in a slum with the poor. Life, one day, a man named Cao Shang from the Song Dynasty came to criticize Zhuangzi. Cao Shang went on a mission to Qin for the king of Song. He got several cars and went to the place where Zhuangzi lived. He boasted about the two kings of Song and Qin like a nouveau riche. The "private car" he was given as a reward. He said to Zhuangzi: "Living in a remote and narrow alley, I was so poor that I had no choice but to make a living by weaving and selling straw sandals. As a result, I became sallow and thin, and my neck was shriveled. Slender, I am not as good as you in these things; but when it comes to gaining the appreciation and love of the monarch of a great country, and then being rewarded with a large fleet of vehicles, you are far behind me! "

Looking at Cao Shang's face as a nouveau riche, Zhuangzi's answer was also very damaging and poisonous: "I heard that the King of Qin was sick and asked a doctor to treat him. Who can open the sore and remove the pus inside? If he is released, he will be rewarded with a chariot; whoever can lick King Qin's hemorrhoids clean will be rewarded with five chariots. It can be seen that the dirtier the disease is, the more cars will be obtained. So I think you must have licked King Qin’s asshole, otherwise how could you get so many cars? Stop talking to me about rewards, and get the hell away from me! ”

In Zhuangzi’s view, poverty and downfall are two different things. Poverty is just a matter of whether the stomach is full and whether the clothes are warm or not, while poverty is a matter of a person’s spirit and soul. Zhuangzi He would rather be poor than admit that he is poor. If he is willing to be poor and give up his beliefs, it will be easy to "get rid of poverty and become rich" because with Zhuangzi's talent, it is still easy to become a civil servant. p>

At that time, King Wei of Chu admired Zhuangzi's name and sent an envoy with heavy gifts to invite him to the court to become prime minister, which is equivalent to today's Prime Minister of the State Council. It was said that Zhuangzi was fishing by the river, and the envoy brought heavy gifts and politely said. After expressing the wishes of the King of Chu, Zhuangzi could not refuse directly, so he asked: "I heard that in your Chu country there is a magical turtle that has been dead for thousands of years. The King of Chu also put it in a box inlaid with pearls and jade. Covered with silk and satin, it was enshrined in a high temple. Even so, do you think this turtle would rather be alive and crawling in the mud or dead and worshiped? The messenger said: "Of course I would rather crawl in the mud alive." So Zhuangzi said with a smile: "You go, I also want to be a turtle dragging its tail and rolling in the mud." In Zhuangzi's eyes, the high official and generous salary that the world dreams of is just a dead turtle in a beautiful box. That’s it!

Zhuangzi spent his whole life in extreme poverty, and he didn’t want to change. However, the ancients said, “Be poor before you work.” Zhuangzi would rather live without food and clothing. The political choice of being naked and willing to be poor and refuse to be an official made Zhuangzi a philosopher with unique thoughts and aloof spirit.

On the contrary, if Zhuangzi lived in the upper class, wore silk and satin every day, and ate delicacies from the mountains and seas, he would not have been able to understand the sufferings that a human being would suffer. Perhaps Zhuangzi and his thoughts would not have been passed down to this day.

Of course, some people easily compromise their lives when faced with poverty and let it be their mercy, while others struggle to get out of trouble and shout NO in capital letters and boldface!

When I met Dali, I was accompanying the elderly in the welfare home. The morning sunlight was very strong, shining on his face through the glass, making him calm and beautiful.

Dali had a happy childhood when he was a child. His father was an attending physician in a county hospital, and his mother had a master's degree in psychology from a university in Beijing. She returned to a small county town and opened a psychology clinic. Her life was very pleasant. Envy, his mother often reads with him.

Later, a little brother was welcomed into the family. He was smart and cute, and his parents paid less attention to him, so he became rebellious. He fought with classmates at school, his grades fell, and he tried to attract his parents' attention in various ways.

When he was in the fourth grade of elementary school, his father died unexpectedly, and his mother’s business was not as good as before. The communication between him and his mother was less and more intense, so he chose to run away from home, sleeping on the street when he was sleepy, and eating when he was hungry. I would eat dried steamed buns and food thrown away by others, but would not go home. Sometimes I would find a place that hired child laborers, and I would choose to leave even though I had hundreds of dollars in my hand, and spend time in an Internet cafe.

When he was nineteen years old, he was sent to prison for fighting with others. He said that two and a half years of prison life was a good thing for Dali. By chance, he saw a Christian in his dormitory watching Dali’s love for books is still there because his mother took him to read it since he was a child, and it was this Bible that gave him another life and taught him love and kindness.

Originally serving a four-year sentence, Dali was released after two and a half years due to good behavior. This time, he decided not to hang around and started working part-time, working as a waiter, a security guard, and He worked as a salesman in a small company. During this period, he took self-study to college, received an undergraduate degree, and learned financial knowledge. Now he is the project team leader of a financial management company in Beijing CBD.

He once rebelled, wandered, worked as a gangster, went to jail, and even had thoughts of suicide. But now he insists on studying, exercising, and doing charity. People around him can feel that he is full of enthusiasm. full of energy. Poverty did not overwhelm him, he continued to grow in the face of adversity, and bid farewell to his days of poverty.

Don’t always complain that you don’t have a good father, don’t always complain about the unfavorable environment. As long as you are willing to change, poverty will be temporary. As long as you love life enough, maybe our lives can also be cheated. If we work hard to grow, we will definitely succeed. Live the life you want!