The wisdom of ancient people, once contemplated, can bring benefits. In a letter written by Zhuge Liang to his son Zhuge Zhan before his death, there is a piece of advice for his son: A gentleman's conduct is to cultivate oneself in tranquility and to nurture virtue through frugality. The latter part is also very famous: Without a tranquil mind, one cannot clarify their ambitions; without serenity, one cannot reach far.
Cultivating oneself in tranquility refers to enhancing one's character through calmness, which I strongly agree with. Because of this saying, I am also deeply grateful for the past ten years, although my career stagnated due to misconceptions, I was able to use this time to calm my mind, gradually settling from a state of inner turmoil as if being chased by a vicious dog. Although this time and process were long and tortuous, it laid a very good foundation for my growth in recent years, allowing me to endure the difficulties of starting again and to face the darker sides of myself and others with mindfulness, acceptance, and transformation.
This world is so noisy and chaotic, people's time is consumed by various information, turning their inner selves into a landfill. I don't know if this sounds too extreme, but I believe most people are in such a situation, and even my mother is not exempt from it.
Yesterday, I took my parents to see "The Heart of the Swimmer," which tells a true story from the 1920s, about a German girl in New York who broke the prevalent discrimination against women in sports at that time. This butcher's daughter named Trudy swam across the English Channel in over two hours faster than the men.
The film is very touching, depicting the struggles of women in that era and the connections and courage among women to overcome difficulties. However, my mother could not bear to watch such a moving film that belongs to the female genre; she simply took out her phone and started watching a TV series. When a girl in front frequently turned around to look back, I quietly stopped my mother, and she reluctantly put down her phone but still couldn't watch it and fell asleep instead. Later, she left early to go to the lobby to scroll on her phone.
At that moment, I felt very angry and a sense of shame arose, but I quickly calmed down, realizing that I had separated my issues: I am me, and my mom is my mom, so I was no longer angry. After my dad and I finished watching the movie and found my mom in the lobby, I asked her why she couldn't continue watching. She said she couldn't understand it. I asked if it was because she couldn't keep up with the English subtitles, and she said she watched but didn't understand, so the more she watched, the more uncomfortable it became, and she simply decided not to watch anymore.
I understood my mom, saying that it is quite uncomfortable to sit there when you can't understand. I told her that in the future, when encountering films without Chinese dubbing, I wouldn't book tickets for her, and she agreed. Later, my dad and I recapped the content of the film for her, and she was quite willing to listen. I also told her that even if she couldn't understand, she shouldn't focus on the parts she didn't understand; by following the movie to watch the whole, some parts would become clear. Of course, this is my experience; in the past, when doing extensive reading in English, I used this method: when encountering something I didn't understand, I never got stuck but continued to look forward. Sometimes, the parts I didn't understand would become clear, and even if I still didn't understand, it wouldn't affect my overall understanding of the text.
Writing to this point, I am truly grateful for the practice of calming my mind, which allows me to quickly overcome the bondage of emotions and also find ways to cope.
Nurturing virtue through frugality, what does frugality mean? It means being economical, referring to not wasting in life, not over-consuming, and maintaining a moderate attitude towards material resources. Frugality is not only a way of life but also a value, a respect and protection for the environment and resources, and a manifestation of wisdom that teaches us how to achieve the greatest utility with the least material.
In this regard, I also have some practices; for example, I only have one set of sportswear and one pair of running shoes because I am not that enthusiastic about fitness or running, so I don't need to change frequently. At the same time, I believe sportswear is easy to wash and dries quickly, so even if I wear it every day, I can wash it at night and wear it again during the day. I also apply this principle to bedding, so currently, I only have one set of bedding.
But this does not mean I won't acquire these items again. If there is a need, such as when they become old and need replacement or if my sports needs increase and I can't keep up with the washing, I will buy more. Perhaps I might also buy something due to encountering a very good design; I think I can accept these situations.
Thus, it can be seen that frugality can also cultivate our self-discipline, enabling people to exercise self-restraint when facing material temptations and the invasion of desires, not prioritizing pleasure as the principle of life. I admit that pleasure is very good, but like twisting a screw, indulging in pleasure can lead to the risk of stripping the screw; the cost of pleasure may become higher, while the time of satisfaction may become shorter.
At the same time, frugality is also a contribution to the human community. By reducing unnecessary consumption, it forces innovation and development in industries, preventing people from sacrificing the environment and resources for short-term benefits at the cost of future well-being.
In this era, frugality can be seen as an expression of minimalism. When our understanding of life and existence can return to the essence, knowing who we are, understanding our innate mission, and recognizing the limitations of our cognition, we can also avoid meaningless consumption on an energetic level and instead use our energy to improve ourselves.
This understanding comes from the past few years of pursuing inner growth while facing the financial crisis caused by years of neglecting my career. Therefore, in addition to learning the lessons of personal growth, I also spent a lot of time understanding and learning knowledge from different fields, hoping to find a breakthrough in my career, but I forgot the simplest way, which is to act using my talents. It can be seen that energy needs a focus; when my main task is to use my talents to build a career, the supplementation of that knowledge seems less urgent and necessary. Of course, this is a reflection of the current stage; I believe there is no wasted learning, but now I will be clearer about the direction of my actions.
The hardest thing for a person to cultivate is moral behavior. Honesty, kindness, justice, and courage are not only reflections of an individual's inner qualities but also the foundation for harmonious development and collective progress in human society. When people's collective consciousness can detach from egoism and prioritize altruism, humanity will surely enter a new realm of life.
The cultivation of virtue is a long and profound process that needs to be practiced in the little things of life. As an attitude towards life, frugality can promote the enhancement of personal virtue. Frugality makes people cherish what they have more, leading to greater gratitude, thus cultivating the virtues of humility, loyalty, and gratitude, while also fostering a sense of responsibility and dedication. When we spread the beauty of life that arises from frugality, we will influence more people to cultivate this virtue.
When we continuously practice cultivating ourselves in tranquility and nurturing virtue through frugality, we will then possess a tranquil and detached mindset, guiding us towards becoming our true selves and reaching an incredibly beautiful shore.