“If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you.”
Inspired by a Taoist story about an empty boat.
An empty boat in your path
Imagine yourself flowing down a calm river on a small wooden boat.
You close your eyes and lie down on the deck, until you hear a thud as something hits your boat.
You open your eyes and jump to your feet, ready to shout at whatever idiot decided to run into you.
Only to see… An empty boat.
Suddenly, with no one to aim at, the anger dissipates.
***
But why does it even matter?
Whether there is somebody in the boat or not – the result for you is the same.
So often, we attribute what happened to us to malice.
He cut me off on purpose.
She is running late because she doesn’t care about me.
God must hate me to let me suffer so much.
But what if you decided to treat the obstacles in life like an empty boat?
Things simply happen – and it’s your job to navigate around them.
Whether it was premeditated, an accident, or a force of nature, should be irrelevant.
What really matters is how you navigate the situation.
But that, while meaningful, is just a surface level lesson…
Remember the quote from the beginning of this newsletter?
The one about becoming an empty boat yourself?
That’s where the topic gets a bit uncomfortable…
To empty your own boat means to live free of ego. By never taking things personally, and following the current, you can live without opposition.
It reminds me a bit of stoicism – never concern yourself with things outside your control.
While I personally love the stoic approach to life, the empty boat principle seems to go a step further.
It suggests letting go of control completely, and being concerned with nothing.
Which is where the story stops resonating with me…
My ambition, passion, and ego are a big part of me. And that’s not something I’m willing to let go of.
But there is definitely some merit in what the story teaches us.
That’s why I recommend taking a moment to relax, and thinking about how you can apply the principles in today’s story to your own life.
Does it resonate strongly? Maybe just a little? Or do you reject it completely?
Feel free to let me know.
Personal updates
Hey, this one was a bit late. But I hope the story can inspire some reflection in you.
As for some updates: I’ll be recreating parts of the website and introduction soon. The latest changes in the newsletter got a positive response, so I’ll be sticking with this format.
I’m also starting to very slowly plan a book – hopefully I can share more about that in a couple of months.
Hope to see you next week!
