Frequently, the people that talk the loudest, interrupt the most, and are most insistent that you listen to them, really have nothing to say. They have no substance to their arguments and there is no logic to their opinions. They are brainwashed by popular superstition and are like parrots repeating words they don't understand and have not thought about. They are like empty barrels clattering down a hill side after being nudged by accident.
The full barrels, that contain valuable cargo are heavy and do not move as easily. If you strike them, they respond with a dull thud, and do not move.
~
I am reminded of a verse 56 from the Tao Te Ching atributed to Lao Tzu:
Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Keep your mouth closed.
Guard your senses.
Temper your sharpness.
Simplify your problems.
Mask your brightness.
Be at one with the dust of the earth.
This is primal union.
He who has achieved this state
Is unconcerned with friends and enemies,
With good and harm, with honor and disgrace.
This therefore is the highest state of man.
(translation by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English)
copyright(c)2015
William Schaeffer
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