22/08/2026
Food for Thought…
An old friend of mine has been stuck in his personal financial and personal struggle for many years…
We have had many discussions over the years… but whatever suggestion or insight is sent his way… he rejects it out of hand… saying… nothing will ever change…
You see, he, like most people, only focus on the things they don’t want… instead of the things they would like to see…
Most people notice and focus on the things that they do not like… fear, distrust, anger, anything that makes them feel uncomfortable…
People that create and grow notice and focus on the things that they do like… beauty, harmony, friendship, growth, expansion, opportunity… things that make them feel good… or at least better than they did before…
Always look for things that make you feel better… Feel Good Now!!!
I have planted this seed so many times in different ways with my old friend over the years… but he never waters and fertilizes the seed… so the idea does not grow and materialize…
Always look for the things that make you feel better… an old teacher of mine would say… “look for the gold in everything you experience!” The gold is there if you look with the intent to notice…
To walk with the natural way is to notice how the river does not struggle… not how it struggles…
It yields to rock and root, and in yielding it finds the path of least resistance and the deepest flow…
Most minds, however, like restless winds, chase the jagged edges of fear, distrust, and anger, and by feeding those winds they become storms… they see and feel resistance rather than accepting natural flow…
The sage, or wise one, chooses differently…
Rather than wrestle with every shadow, he turns his attention to the hidden light… the simple pleasures that restore the heart…
He rests in small harmonies… a bowl of rice steaming at dawn, the warmth of another’s hand, the quiet that follows rain…
These are not escapes but teachings… Each pleasant thing is a scent of the Dao, a reminder that the world continually offers repair…
Practice is gentle… Begin by noticing… not fixing… the moments that ease you…
Let gratitude be a soft compass, not a rigid creed…
When you collect what delights you, you do not accumulate in greed but learn discernment…
Like a farmer who waters the sprout rather than tearing up the w**d, cultivate growth and let the rest return to earth…
This is not denial…
Storms will rise… anger and fear are part of the landscape…
Yet when you keep attention on what heals, those storms pass with less destruction…
The Dao is balance… yin receives, yang acts… Embrace both without clinging…
Over time, a subtle alchemy occurs… inner alchemy… The heart becomes like polished stone, not by force but by gentle, steady turning…
The gold my old teacher spoke of is not locked away… it is present in every breath, waiting for a gaze that rests, accepts, and chooses the calm path of being…
In quiet noticing, life softens… the Dao teaches us to welcome the small joys as true guidance always…
I sincerely hope that my old friend waters and fertilizes his seed this time… with every bowl of rice… every sunrise… the feel of his wife’s hand… the smile on his daughter’s face…
How wonderful that can be for his family, his coworkers, his friends, himself… and the world…
How about you? Do you “Look for the Gold?”
All the Best!
H Perry Curtis, Master at Pampamisayoc Qi Gong
I Ching for Today: Modern Interpretations for Daily Living https://a.co/d/0dwXDRY3
