Knowing When To Stop
An extraordinary faculty in debating
leads to the piling up of arguments
like a builder with his bricks,
or a net-maker with his string.
(Its possessor) cunningly contrives his sentences and enjoys himself
in discussing what hardness is and what whiteness is,
where views agree and where they differ,
and pressing on, though weary, with short steps,
with (a multitude of) useless words to make good his opinion;
nor will he stop till he has become a Yang (Ku) or Mo (Ti).
But in all these cases
the parties, with their redundant and divergent methods,
do not proceed by that which is the correct path for all under the sky.
That which is the perfectly correct path
is not to lose the real character
of the nature with which we are endowed.
—Zhuangzi, Webbed Toes trans. by James Legge
Who were Yang and Mo? Even if no one knows, we have a good idea what they were like. Insufferable. Men who had lost their sense of measure, how much is enough. We may “experience” images of this type daily in the media. I mean the talking-head, pundit or adman infatuated with the sound of their voice.
Knowing when to shut-up, to silence our voices is not something taught in the university. First what is one’s real character.
Then, how not to lose it.
2 thoughts on “Knowing When To Stop”
But does the truly wise person seek that limelight? Would they parry with another wise person for the sake of having their voice heard above the din of babbling chatter? My guess would be that they would not.
Do those who do seek the bully pulpit, who become those talking heads on the evening news or on some podcast ,seek the notoriety out of the goodness of their heart or is there something else that drives them to pontificate. Many of the people we quote both here and in the emails we send each other waive their words like beacons on television shows, on the computer, and in books. Do we question their motivations for broadcasting their thoughts or do we just ascribe their spouted concepts to altruism? Doesn’t it depend on our own narrative who we choose to elevate and who we choose to castigate?
On the other hand silence can sometimes be equated with complacency or tacit agreement with those who are sowing disharmony in the world. How do we really know which is which, what is the correct path? I personally tend to shout, to throw my words about as if someone will hear them, to try and warn that the sky is falling. Perhaps this is a form of self-aggrandizement. Or perhaps it is frustration with my lot in life. Or maybe I’m futilely attempting to wave my own red flag to expose how the world is turning towards its own self-destruction. It could be all of these or none of these reasons?
So yes, in the end, all of this thinking, and yelling, and prognosticating may very well just be in vain, words lost in the wind, sound and fury signifying nothing.
Life full of sound and fury, signifying…
Each of us is fortunate to be here at all. I beat the odds simply that I was born. I have one life. It is up to me to assess the value of that life, to apply the quotient of effort and words and time — as I can. There’s no external standard of valuation, no baseline… Or no expectation of any future judgment, as some apparently fear. So what of the mixed motivation concealed in the unconscious, involuntarily concealed… My sense is that time is first and foremost the opportunity to sort and sift through that pile of debris, in order to become more centered, a more skillful, more passionate agent to explore and to cultivate what has captured one’s heart.
To speak or to be silent… Seems that has to be a case by case, on-the-fly decision. Time is finite, precious. With whom and when is making common cause feasible?
Only in retrospect can it be known what it all amounts to.