Personal growth: The power of the unsaid and the non-verbal April 6, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth.Tags: Confucius, David Hinton, inspiration, life, personal development potential, philosophy, spirituality
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By Dennis Mellersh
What is not said can have great power.
Similarly, a communicative force exists in the world of the inanimate and non-verbal.
Both circumstances can help smooth the path to self-actualization.
Eastern spiritual philosophies focused on self-improvement and personal enlightenment often emphasize the rewards of both personal silence and of observing that which is silent.
Consider this brief Confucius anecdote:
The Master said, “I’d love to just say nothing.”
“But if you say nothing,” said Adept Kung, how would we disciples hand down your teachings?”
“What has Heaven* ever said?” replied the Master. “The four seasons keep turning and the hundred things keep emerging – but what has Heaven ever said?” (1)
* The term Heaven in the writings of Confucius, as explained by David Hinton, refers to “Natural process. Or, more descriptively, the inevitable unfolding of things in the cosmological process.”
(1) Confucius, The Analects, in The Four Chinese Classics, translated, and with commentary by David Hinton, Counterpoint, Berkeley, California, 2013. http://www.counterpointpress.com
Personal growth: Wasting people and wasting words April 4, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Solving Problems.Tags: Confucius, life, lifestyle, personal development, personal growth program, philosophy, self-actualization
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By Dennis Mellersh
Knowing when we should share advice and when we should withhold it can be an important skill or aptitude to develop in our personal development and self-actualization learning program.
Sometimes we don’t share when our input is needed by someone and other times we share when the recipient is not open to receiving it.
The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius sums up the predicament this way:
“When a person is capable of understanding your words and you refuse to speak, you’re wasting a person. When a person isn’t capable of understanding your words and you speak anyway, you’re wasting words. The wise waste neither words nor people.” (1)
Not always easy however to determine which of the two divergent scenarios we are dealing with.
That’s why it’s a skill; and it takes some time and work to learn.
(1) Quoted in The Analects as translated by David Hinton in his book The Four Chinese Classics
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