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When everyone in the world knows that beauty is exemplified by beautiful actions, what's seen as ugliness would end. When everyone knows how pleasant it can be, they'd no longer be cruel. There'd be nothing to prevent mutual enjoyment of life. Success can be reached whether the process is difficult or easy. Shapes are formed by both long and short lines. A pit is filled by what's on the bottom and what's on the top. Harmony is reached by using both the sound of individual notes and a blend of notes. What's in the lead or what's in the rear are following something. It's naturally right for a wise person: Not to interfere with another's performance in their affairs, and not to use demanding words. Then all living things would naturally arise on their own, and wouldn't be given a starting point. They'd take actions but wouldn't depend on the results. They'd succeed but wouldn't dwell on their success. You see, it's only by not dwelling on their success That they wouldn't depart from what they already have.   Commentary: 2 ~ Making Judgments -When everyone in the world knows that beauty is exemplified by beautiful actions, what's seen as ugliness would end. -When everyone knows how pleasant it can be, they'd no longer be cruel. -There'd be nothing to prevent mutual enjoyment of life. Making judgments can cause opposites to occur. If you consider one thing to be beautiful, then something else has to be ugly for the comparison to work. Most people make judgments right away about everything they come across, and treat people differently based on their own views of whether a person is acting in a way they think is appropriate or not. If you can let go of making those snap judgments, and try to find the beauty in everything (rather than looking for the ugliness), wouldn’t you just naturally treat everyone the same? By seeing the true pleasantness of acting in a beautiful way rather than looking for ugliness, other people wouldn’t see themselves as being ugly. Look at your own actions and feelings - do you feel better when you've been kind or when you've been unkind? Do you try to justify your unkind actions by telling yourself that you were justifiably unkind to a mean person? Does that make you feel any better for being unkind? -Success can be reached whether the process is difficult or easy. -Shapes are formed by both long and short lines. -A pit is filled by what's on the bottom and what's on the top. -Harmony is reached by using both the sound of individual notes and a blend of notes. -What's in the lead or what's in the rear are following something. Not everything is easy in life, and sometimes it seems as though the difficulties facing us are too huge to overcome. If you remember difficulties you had in the past, you'll see that you managed to succeed eventually despite them. Some tasks are just easier than others. Some things take a long time to resolve, and others can be dealt with quickly. Sometimes you feel crushed by the weight you have to bear, and other times you feel as though you're on top of the world. Sometimes you feel as though you're all alone, and other times you're involved with people. Sometimes you're leading, and sometimes you're following, but everything is actually following something else. Whether you’re in front or behind; on top or on the bottom; everything works together. -It's naturally right for a wise person: -Not to interfere with another's performance in their affairs, and not to use demanding words. -Then all living things would naturally arise on their own, and wouldn't be given a starting point. -They'd take actions but wouldn't depend on the results. -They'd succeed but wouldn't dwell on their success. The Laozi then determines what "acting beautifully" (as mentioned in the first section of this chapter) means. It means not interfering with how others choose to live their lives. That doesn’t mean not offering a helping hand if a friend asks for your assistance, but it means not trying to make them do what you think they should do. If you make a judgment that something they’re doing is wrong or ugly, that could cause them to see themselves as being even more ugly and the circle would never end. Just as you've sometimes been on the top and sometimes been on the bottom, it's the same for others. They have to go through their own experiences. If you try to set up goals for them, you might cause a reverse reaction. If you set up goals for them, then they'd only be happy if they accomplished those goals. Anything viewed as an accomplishment would then create an opposite - a failure. If people realize that their existence is in itself a success, they'll never fail. It's not up to you to make the determination for them. If you don’t set up expectations from others, and don’t make judgments on them based on your view of them as being something ugly that needs to be made beautiful, their true beauty will come out. Everything they do will be in keeping with learning from their own experiences. They will succeed in that way. Because they’re not dependent on you to tell them they have. Alternate translation: If everything is already beautiful, there’s nothing that’s ugly. Since nothing is ugly, don’t be mean. That’s how everyone can be happy. Things might: Be hard or easy; Take a long time or happen quickly; Feel heavy or light; Be done alone or with others; Give you direction or let you lead. Someone who sees that doesn’t mess with other people’s lives by telling them what to do. Then everyone can find their own way. Whatever they end up doing, They’d be happy with it because they wouldn’t feel they’d let you down. Historical Notes: Most of the common people in ancient China were farmers who'd never have an opportunity to become anything else. It was considered a great success to become appointed as a government official, or to marry your daughter to an official. Not only would that provide a person with wealth, but it also provided a sense of self-importance. Unfortunately, most people who achieved a higher social status tended to view the commoners as ugly and unrefined. The officials were so busy trying to please their rulers (and avoid losing their lives by making a mistake) that they became cruel and insensitive to the needs of others. It's not really very different in modern times. When a person feels as though they've become successful in the way society values success, they can lose their sense of being connected to the rest of humanity. 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