It turns out Confucius understood some of the aspects of being a teenager. I know, weird. As I was reading, I was trying to look at the Analects with a different point of view that wasn´t a student doing her homework, but more as me. What I mean by this is I was trying to see how I, a Catholic 15 year old girl, could put these teachings into a modern context. Even though Confucius is dead and has been dead for a very long time, his teaching still work in the present.“I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.”
If I was to write a song right now, these words would inspire me. This quote impressed me alot just because it explains how I feel sometimes. I have friends who don't know who I like or how much my cat annoys me and I´ve never been able to understand why I just don't tell them. With this quote in a way I understood that these are things that they can understand without me explaining it to them. And why should I give up time explaining something I have, subconsciously, already explained? Its their problem if they "can´t figure out the rest of the corners."
Confucius is hungry for knowledge and I believe everyone is hungry for knowledge. Maybe not math or science but for other things. Who doesn't like to check out what scandal Miley Cyrus brought upon herself recently and learn the facts to tell your friends later? Or maybe read a blog about a topic that interests you, just so you know how to improve your skills? Don't expect me to be going into my computer and researching quadratic equations, but I am hungry for knowledge in topics that interest me.
You know how you fight with a friend and an hour later you are talking and laughing like it never happened? Well it turns out Confucius also forgot the bad moments when they were filled with joy. He was a truly a kid at heart. But its annoying when people get mad all the time about the most dumb issues and then make a big deal out of them. I agree with Confucius about getting caught up in the joy, but it doesn't justify it when it happens on a daily basis with someone who has these freak outs and then expects you to be normal. Its ok if you do it once in a while but why live your life in misery?
“When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good."
I found this quote very funny. I don't know why but as soon as I read it I laughed. Maybe its because the irony of dieing and being nice is such a cliche. Hello? Everyone who has been on their death bed is super nice and deep. Take Simon Bolivar for example, there he was about to die and he still made time to write a speech. Sure death is not a funny topic but what happens before death is so predictable. Take it from someone who has gone to 5 funerals in her life and has seen the people before they died. Anyway, its nice that they try to make amends before they leave the world and in a sense it gives the person a new slate in your mind to remember them by.
“Why did you not say to him,-He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old age is coming on?”
I already discussed this above but would just like to put the quote where I got those ideas from.
To finish I would just like to say that being called an "ancient worthy" is like being called a hottie for Confucius, but in the "good way".
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