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If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
If you aren't afraid of dying,
there is nothing you can't achieve.
Trying to control the future
is like trying to take the master carpenter's place.
When you handle the master carpenter's tools,
chances are that you'll cut your hand.
74
Tao Te Ching, a New English Version, copyright ©️ 1988 by Stephen Mitchell, published by HarperCollins. All rights reserved.
As magnificent and original as that “master carpenter” analogy is, read it enough times and you will eventually turn it into just another quote on resisting change. I’m sure even the classic “The only thing that doesn't change is change itself” once had a profound effect on its readers but no level of simplicity or cleverness is any match to the inevitable fate of all wise words: Cliché hell.
The tricky thing about a profound truth is not how to say it, it’s how to hear it. You may find yourself having a particularly busy morning while reading this Newsletter so that even the deepest and wisest truths will fly by meaninglessly like the rushed multitasked breakfast you had in between meetings.
Hearing a profound truth properly requires effort. Effort few are able or willing to spend. If you’re like me, most days you won't be able to do it, or you just flat out won’t want to. But what is the alternative? “The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”1
So the next time you read the words: “If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.” do it as if your life depends on it. Because it does.
Speech of the Week
I’m sure I’m not the first person to recommend you this speech but I‘ve been reading DFW and felt compelled to share it with you:
Brilliant. If you do take the time to listen to it, I’ll be happy to hear from you!
Song Picks of the Week (Official TTT Playlist here)
(Indie Folk)
(Indie)
(Classical)
Thank you for reading! Let me know you’re thoughts.
Until next Tuesday,
Daniel
From This Is Water by David Foster Wallace