Chapter 149 Be wise and protect yourself with moderation

Nowadays, many people regard "the golden mean" as a derogatory term and attack it as decadent and declining.This is a ignorance or misinterpretation of the mean.The philosopher Aristotle in ancient Greece and Confucius in China both discovered two wrong tendencies in morality: one is extreme and the other is retreat.At the same time, the two believe that apart from the above two wrong tendencies, the only correct behavior is "the golden mean", that is, "moderate". But in real life, people are just the opposite. Some people do things too much, or they are "not in place".

In fact, the so-called middle refers to the essence and the method; the so-called mediocre refers to practicality and practice. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a high-ranking official named Cao Zhenyong. He was a veteran of the three dynasties, a celebrity of Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang.His way of dealing with affairs and being an official is to "kowtow more and talk less".In today's society, whether it is the current leader or the person who is about to succeed, they all know a principle: talk less about problems and more about ideas in speeches.This is the application of the Confucian "Golden Mean" in reality.If you don't consider their achievements as officials, but only talk about how they behave in the world, they can be regarded as smart people.

The Doctrine of the Mean pursues a state of stability, harmony, balance, and persistence. Confucianism regards the Doctrine of the Mean as a norm of thought and a code of conduct.Confucius said: "A gentleman is mean, and a villain is against the mean. A gentleman is mean, and a gentleman is moderate; a villain is against the mean, and a villain has no fear." It can be seen that Confucius completely regards the mean as the criterion for distinguishing a gentleman from a villain . Confucius' thought of "don't do to others what you don't want yourself to do to yourself" is to ask us to follow the golden mean when dealing with interpersonal relationships.

The doctrine of "The Doctrine of the Mean" puts forward the principles of dealing with interpersonal relationships: "Junhui and ministers are loyal, fathers are kind and sons are filial, husbands are righteous and women are obedient, brothers and friends are respectful, and friends are trustworthy." The realm of "sincerity" and "supreme benevolence". The golden mean is also the way of life for ordinary people.The more the society develops, the more complicated the interpersonal communication becomes.Moderation allows us to easily handle various relationships, balance various situations, make ourselves feel like a fish in water in social life, and handle complex and changeable interpersonal conflicts with ease.Let us take our place in the context of creating a harmonious society.

Understanding the golden mean can enable us to obtain a perfect interpersonal atmosphere.If you can't resolve all kinds of conflicts and handle all kinds of interpersonal relationships harmoniously, then the communication will never be smooth.