I remember reading a novel that I'd given my oldest daughter many years ago, probably because she insisted I do so. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. The main character was a high school kid whose name was Tao (pronounced "Dow") Jones. He was named such by his hippie parents. Very clever, huh? Since the Tao ("The Way") is the Buddhist code of behavior that is in harmony with the natural order, it seems to be in contrast with our capitalistic culture. And therein lies the yin and the yang, I suppose. Opposite forces.
The Dow Jones dropped (again) today over 1,032 points or 4.15%. It has now sunk into "correction," whatever that means. It is down 10% from its record high. And all of this, as you know, has happened very quickly, with barely a peep out of the man who tried to take credit for the surge in the market. As Charlie Sykes, the "Contrarian Conservative," tweeted, "The Dow drops 1,000 points. Congress raises debt another 1.7 trillion. But we get a parade." Seventy-six trombones led the big parade . . .
I have always been intrigued by Eastern philosophy. The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path have long made sense to me. The first Noble Truth lays it out there: Life is suffering. I accepted this truth long ago. My daughter and I have puzzled over the reality that there are some people who have yet to experience tragedy or loss and others who have had nothing but. Because my children experienced the loss of their father when they were very young, they sometimes struggle with their friends expressing devastation at the death of their 96-year-old grandfather. Where am I going with this? If you can accept that life is suffering, you can put your joy and sorrow into perspective and carry on.
And so it is with the Dow Jones. Sure, it was really nice when it kept climbing and breaking records. Now it's "correcting," and there's no reason to panic. It would be appropriate here to note that the Second Noble Truth states that the cause of suffering is desire. Money, money, money! The Third Noble Truth assures us that there is an end to suffering, and the Fourth Noble Truth points us to the Eightfold Path.
I'll let you explore that on your own. And if/when you do, could you send it on to the man who wants a parade? I think he could use a good dose of humility.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
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