19/02/2026
The Sage would accept every life imposed upon him without blame or regret, without losing his good humor and contentment, because his inner self possesses the means to communicate with the external world in such a way that wealth, honor, leisure – or their opposites – are unable to affect the strength of his soul."
This doesn't mean you're not affected by, say, an enormous tax bill or the fact that you're struggling to pay your mortgage… but your inner strength doesn't suffer from it. You can stand tall, you remain grounded. But how do you stay grounded? Don't forget that life is always an interplay of Yin and Yang. Within setbacks lie moments of learning, and often we see that as "we just have to accept it and push it away" – but try pausing for a moment: 'what's happening here?', 'is this a repetition of something I need to learn from?'
Example: you really want to be liked. But during a certain period you keep meeting people who repeatedly cross your boundaries. There lies a challenge, an invitation. Your inner compass wants to say no to these friends/people, but in doing so you risk not being liked…
And then you might start to waver a little – what to do, which choice… your ego, your wild monkey runs away with you, your so-called protector says: "just go along with the other person… then everything will be fine" – and that feels safe.
But put another way – if you say yes when you feel a no, are you truly respecting yourself? And if you say no and it costs you a friendship, was it ever a true friendship?
