Knock down the old grey wall, be a part of it all (Badfinger)

No, it's okay, hang on - you haven't strayed onto The Purdzilla Show blog by accident. 

I wanted to examine this idea for a bit in Wozza's Place.

Confucius' take on injury's in the same ball park as the Latin motto of the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland - Nemo me impune lacessit (No one "cuts" (attacks/assails) me with impunity). William Wallace would understand, no doubt.

Interestingly, Lao Tzu's take on injury differs from Confucius. 

He says in the Tao Te Ching that '(It is the way of the Tao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense injury with kindness'.

Seems to me, this is way harder than meeting injury with justice.

Close to the Jesus' maxim to turn the other cheek (...resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also), Lao Tzu proposes non violent resistance  similar to Jesus' stance which can be seen as a command not to take vengeance.

All up I like Lao Tzu's method, because it advocates kindness, no matter what. Something to aspire towards!

Love and peace - Wozza

To hear much, pick out the good and follow it; to see much and think it over; this comes next to wisdom (Confucius)

Time and place are weird things, are they not.

One day we are riding our non electric bicycles to the Wuxi ecological park in a brisk 7 degrees to wander through a sea of bamboo and gardens, then a few days later we are strolling along a beach on Waiheke Island in 28 degrees admiring the hibiscus and the fading pohutakawa blossoms (we are staying with SWMBO's dad and his friend Florine before heading to the provinces).

Funny how fast the body adapts too. Layers and warmth have been replaced by sun hats, shorts and t shirts. Our only difficulty has been (not) sleeping through humid hot sticky nights. Windows closed because of the Wuxi cold have been replaced by windows closed because of the Waiheke mosquito brigades.

A few stark contrasts, apart from the obvious summer replacing winter, are bound to be present as we adjust to NZ again.

Car horns have been replaced by the swoosh of waves and birdsong (no sighting of tuis yet though), pedestrian savvy slow cars and traffic in China have been replaced by fast reckless drivers on Waiheke (even if they use their indicators), slim people have been replaced by the overweight, being regarded with amusement (crazy foreigners) has gone because we now merge with the other crazy foreigners, food market shelves have far less mystery, recycling at the gate has replaced people combing the garbage for cardboard, plastics and bottles in the car park, the number of smokers has dramatically reduced (they look so sad and pathetic here - skulkers in the shadows).

And, of course, some things are constant: everyone has a cell phone glued to their heads.

Love and peace - Wozza

P.S. So good being back on the fantastic blogger site.