tolerance and grit
TRANSCRIPT
In my spare time I enjoy fishing.
Gu Feng depicts his fishing experience in a poem, “In the mist that shrouds the valley, by the stream that reflects the lush green bamboos and shiny red flowers, stood I in soft breeze, fishing in quietness. At dusk, I listened to the rain dripping on the pavilion. At dawn, I held an umbrella, in blue robe, walked in solitude along the stony path.”
Beautiful!
But I am nor Gu Feng. The fun of fishing to me is in the bite, without which the relaxing scenery is not enough to make me content.
The disposition of the fish is elusive. In some days I don’t catch any. In most days two or three fish an hour is normal. But sometimes the fish suddenly scramble to snatch. Your toss the lure, and they jump up to bite. One after another you can catch dozens in an hour. This miracle happens only two or three times a year.
My fancy for fishing, in addition to the soothingness of the nature, comes mainly from the temptation of such miracles.
The addiction, therefore, is in the hope. In reality miracles are rare.
This situation is very much lie dancing tango.
The elegant venue, soft lighting, resplendent dresses, beautiful music, all are pleasant, but not enough to make me happy without a good partner.
One night, fortunately, you met a person, whose height, figure, musicality, dance skill, manner and temperament are all compatible to yours.
Like a perfect match made in heaven, the two of you become instant pals, giving rein to the dance that enable you not only to enjoy the seamless cooperation, but also the freedom like in an unrestrained solo.
This experience changed your outlook on life, because you now tasted the feeling of being one with another person in perfection.
From then on, you go to the milonga again and again, week after week, hoping to re-experience that miracle.
But miracles come only by luck and not will. In my fourteen years of dancing tango in countless milongas, that experience only occurred few times.
Which, nonetheless, is still the reason I am addicted to tango, because I yearn to revisit that dream one more time.
Tango is the search of a dream. In reality, however, miracles are rare.
People often forget that ordinariness is the norm of life; therefore, we need to accept, cherish and enjoy the ordinary, which is something many are not very good at.
Voltaire said: “What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of fragility and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly – that is the first law of nature.”
Of course, appreciating the ordinary is not enough. We all yearn to transcend the ordinary and achieve the extraordinary.
Excellence is the consequence of grit. Only by repeating the ordinary countless times can one obtain the extraordinary.
Therefore, let us also encourage ourselves and be gritty – the miracles will happen as a result, that is the second law of nature.
