there is a quote i keep going back too in the tao de qing, the ancient taoist book considered to be the bible for taoist and other monks. it reads that harsh words are true and kind words are false. to be exact it states: truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. these words strike me when i hear criticism, or on occasion words of praise. it is the otherside that seems to ring the truth, the words i wish to avoid that seem more aligned with what i need to do to become better. a constant push against gravity, a hardening of oneself to become a better person.

like all types of food one can indulge in, it is the bitter undercooked vegetables that harden your body, nourish your soul. the dripping sugars on the fried donut, although delicious going in is sure to bring about a consequence of lethargy and obesity. such goes to savings instead of spending or exercising instead of moping around. the truth we so do not want to hear, to see, lies clearly around us all. harder roads and harsher words push one to improve, face it now or be stricken to see it again, in a nastier form.

it seems we are all going through some struggles of recent. a general melancholy has seemingly grasped civilization, a reckoning from too many years of good times, of peace and prosperity. like the donut analogy, it seems that the world wants to pull us in another direction. a harsher more detrimental reality for each of us to learn from. the balance we have struggled for so long to obtain tipping in another direction, pulling us one way in order to enjoy the opposite. bitterness can easily be savored if one realizes the benefits from going from one side to the next. a light shines the brightest in the darkest hours.