mountains and forests, zhuangzi has confucius say, plateaus and wide landscapes, how happy they make me. how much joy they bring.

joy has hardly ended when sadness spreads.

we cannot prevent joy and sadness from appearing. we cannot prevent them from leaving.

how sad that humans see other beings as travelers met by chance, zhuangzi has confucius say. they take only that which they meet and nothing of what they do not meet. so they remain ignorant.

and they struggle to avoid the inevitable. how sad is that, too.

so it seems as if the best speech is not speaking. as if the best act is not acting.