The Tree of Wisdom

The Coronavirus epidemic is creating fear everywhere. I experienced the same thing during the SARS epidemic. At that time, I was flying occasionally and every flight felt tense and uncomfortable. But that was 17 years ago.

Today, social media makes the panic worse. The things that go viral over through your phone causes as much harm as Covid-19, as the virus is officially known now. I am not comfortable wearing a mask; I merely take the basic precautions in avoiding crowded public places and washing my hands often. I also changed my routine a bit, preferring to work from my apartment than from cafes.

Working alone purposefully is one of the simple joys of life. One of the tricks of being always in a happy mood is to create easy opportunities for simple pleasures to manifest themselves. Waking up early and being able to have a head-start to the day, is a great joy. Never mind that you have not accomplished anything yet. Being fully ready on the starting line is already a cause for celebration.

Life is full of risks. We live everyday with a lot of uncertainties: we could to be hit by a car the moment we step out from the house; we can get infected by harmful viruses anytime. But still we go about life with the anticipation of a success in everything we do. A kind of positive optimism is how life should be pursued. Do what we can at any moment in time, being mindful of what we are supposed to do and to experience each moment fully, no matter what the outcome is.

When we look at the people around us, we realize that everyone is in the same boat. Everyone tries to do their best to pursue what they think is important to them. Some make bad choices because the things they want in life requires a high price to pay, but we always reap what we sow. We have to respect everyone's choice and each and every one of us has an individual path to pursue. Sometimes we can only learn our lessons the hard way. But learn we will, albeit slowly and painfully.

When you are young, you are brave and energetic. So you do not mind pain, and sometimes even welcome them, as long as the rewards are comeasurable. Pain comes in two forms: physical hard-work and mental stress. Many people are more than willing to do hardwork to achieve their goals but are ignorant of their capacity to handle stress. We regain our physical energy after a good rest but stress is often chronic. It prevents you from having a good rest at night. It stays with you day and night, poisoning your soul.

Are you ready for that? Are you capable of unburdening yourself of your problems at night so that you can have a good sleep? Most people can't. And that's the greatest suffering one has to endure in modern life. That perpetual fight-or-flight condition one carries day and night in one's mind and body. To let go of it requires one to trace its sources. We often think the cause of all our problems lies outside ourselves. It's other people's fault--your parents, your co-workers, your boss and your circumstances in life.

That is the trap that one has to free oneself from. Look into yourself. Be clear of what you are striving for. Perfect your own soul first. Stresses build up when your approach and reaction to the external world is not optimal. When you feel pressure accumulating in one area, relax and free it first. Solve problems before they become to big, until they break you. Be fluid and be an efficient self-correcting system. That way, you can weave yourself around any obstacle without injuring yourself. Be like a strong tree, anchored firmly to the ground, with deep roots, allowing your branches to sway gently to absorb the force of the wind.

Strengthen your trunks from the inside, slowly adding layer upon layer. Sprout new leaves and shed the withered ones. A tree is firm but yielding at the right places to accommodate the onslaught of the wind and rain. It does its work surely and quietly. A tree blends naturally into the ecosystem because it is constantly sensing and adjusting to its surrounding.

And that is how we should face life, like a mighty tree, standing to the test of time.