Missed a week or so!

Finals, plus a week where I mostly interviewed with companies, but pretended to volunteer for our “Service Immersion” took a lot out of me. So, I didn’t update at all, even the Tao was not in operation. But all that should change as I go into this new quarter. I have one class, a capstone and a job search. Hopefully, I will have time to blog somewhat.

The Tao of Friday

When I read Chapter XXXVIII, I feel like I can envision the sort of person that is written about here.  I think of leaders who never look or scrabble for positions of power, but are just so natural at it that people automatically defer to them.  I think of the kind of leader I would like to be, and this is definitely inspiration.  So often in this MBA program, we are expected to be this kind of person in business, but so often fall short.

The Master doesn’t try to be powerful;
thus he is truly powerful.
The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
thus he never has enough.

The Master does nothing,
yet he leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
yet many more are left to be done.

The kind man does something,
yet something remains undone.
The just man does something,
and leaves many things to be done.
The moral man does something,
and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.

Therefore the Master concerns himself
with the depths and not the surface,
with the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
and lets all illusions go.

The Tao of Friday

Way to undermine the marketing here!  Just kidding.  Chapter XXXVII is all about how the Tao can help the student achieve theri goals through harmony.  Then, at the end, there is that hook about the lack of something that’s actually kind of fun (like desire).  It does remind me a bit a ascetic traditions, and finding enlightenment through denying oneself.  But let’s face it: I’m not particularly good at that.

The Tao never does anything,
yet through it all things are done.

If powerful men and women
could venter themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.
People would be content
with their simple, everyday lives,
in harmony, and free of desire.

When there is no desire,
all things are at peace.

Job searching is a lot like dating

At least in that it’s hard to juggle all these competing interests.  So, good news!  I am going to one on-site interview next Tuesday/Wednesday, and I have another on-site interview with another company the first week of March.  The latter company is a pharma conducting third round interviews for one position.  The former is in a different industry for  different position.  SO, my options are a little more open that even a few weeks ago. And that is A Good Thing.

That I am going to have to do all this driving through mountain passes in winter is making me really nervous however.  In the best of times, I feel like I’m in a pinball machine trying to make it through the valley.  In inclement weather, it’s a nightmare. But worth it, I suppose, if I get a job.  What’s a little heartburn for the cause?

The Tao of Friday

Chapter XXXVI is a little like, “If you love them, let them go.”  I feel like this is the Chapter of Dr. Phil.  Except the last two lines, which make such sense to me from a business/MBA perspective, it’s crazy.  Results certainly do speak for themselves.

If you want to shrink something,
you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
you must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception
of the way things are.

The soft overcomes the hard.
The slow overcomes the fast.
Let your workings remain a mystery.
Just show people the results.

It’s not weed, it just grows as fast

My mom gave me a hydroponic planter for my apartment years ago, and now I am using up the last of my plants: cherry tomatoes.  The plants are growing well, I took this picture before I pruned them, but they are almost back to being this tall.

One of the amusing things about the plants is how high-maintenance they are.  The plants will not grow with water that has any softeners in it, much to my surprise when I tried to grow herbs.  So, I have to buy distilled water from the grocery store to water these plants.  And because they use so much, about a gallon per week, I have to stock up on the water and not use it too much for other things.  Essentially this means that I have to drink the tap while my plants get the premium stuff.  And do they ever thank me? I’m so unappreciated.