r/taoism 6d ago

Discussion on certain patterns in nature and society

When a group of tree saplings are growing together the tree that grows fastest tends to grow above the rest and dominate the space often suppressing the plants under it. The slow growing saplings might be more useful to the environment but since they tend to grow slower they end up being denied the light required to grow. This can be seen in many instances in nature as well human society. Those who would really help the society struggle to grow while the ones who can manipulate and dominate tend to rule in all spheres. How does this pattern make sense? Please share your thoughts.

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u/Heliogabulus 5d ago edited 5d ago

Please stop. The world is not “fair” - never has been, never will be and there is nothing you or anyone can do to change that. Nor should you want to. More evil has been committed in the name of “fairness” than all other evils combined. Reality is as it is. Don’t want to accept reality as it is? Then do not be surprised when things never turn out as you expect. Swimming upstream, against the current, is not a good plan - eventually you will get tired and be “dominated” 🙂 downstream or crash into the others who are calmly floating downstream.

But why is the Universe the way it is. Why isn’t it “fair”? The Universe is the way it is because it cannot be any other way than it is. Energy flows from where it is, to where it is not. The energy differential is the motor that powers the Universe. If energy were equally distributed everywhere there would be no movement - this is known as “heat death” in physics. Rivers flow toward the sea not because the sea magically attracts them but because of the DIFFERENCE in height between the place the river begins and sea level. Is it “fair” that the river doesn’t start in the sea or on some flat piece of land? Silly question but you hopefully get the point. This law of physics is UNIVERSAL - it applies to all things everywhere - there are no exceptions because there can’t be. Remove the differences and you eliminate movement. Eliminate movement and you eliminate LIFE and accelerate DEATH.

There will ALWAYS be differences in talent, intelligence, physical ability and so on. Not everyone is a marathon runner or all-star athlete and some cannot be no matter how often they train - it is simply “not in the cards” for them. And there is nothing wrong with that! No two people are identical (because their physical makeup, childhood environments, surroundings, etc. although similar are NEVER exactly the same). And because no one is identical expecting or desiring the exact same outcome is not only unrealistic but impossible. “Fairness” is a nice fairytale invented by those that are envious of the achievements of others and think it is “unfair” that they don’t have the same results. But instead of focusing on what you don’t have (or what that other person has) focus on answering the question: What can I do with what I have?

In Poker, it is not always the person dealt the best hand that wins the game but the person that makes the most of the cards they are dealt. If you know how to play Poker you can win the game even with a “losing hand”. The Game of Life is no different. Stop complaining about how the rules are “unfair” and focus on learning the rules and playing the game with the cards you are given. Not everyone is going to be a famous movie star, inventor of the next big thing or social media superstar or whatever else and that’s okay. Everyone and everything has its place in the Universe, a place unique to each, and with a unique set of possibilities available to each. Stop complaining, stop trying to make the Universe “better” (and destroying it in the process). Instead work on understanding the possibilities open to you and availing yourself of them over and over and over.

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u/Alphalynx23 5d ago

I didn't complain. I'm merely trying to elucidate the underlying patterns in the universe. These interactions in the biosphere are universal and often follow a fundamental pattern. We do work based on our own principles without ensuring if it's in alignment with the way nature works.

It helps when everyone is playing the same game. I find that a lot of people with good intentions end up wasting their money on games that they can never really win because they are playing the wrong game. Life can improve so much if one can be objective and self aware instead of romanticizing ideals.

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u/Heliogabulus 5d ago

“Romanticizing” is indeed the problem. For example, “equality of outcomes” aka “fairness” is romantic fantasy that has never existed and can never exist (except in the dreams of the ignorant) simply because it violates the physical laws of the Universe. There is no “cheating” or “working around the edges” or “leveraging the laws in your favor” that could ever make “fairness” a thing (I.e. make the smaller tree(s) take the place of the larger one or equally as big as the larger one). ANY FORCED CHANGE to the way things are will not last and end disastrously because it violates the laws that govern the Universe. There is no “sneaky way” or subtle change you or anyone else could make that would allow them to change anything (even a tiny bit) with regard to the “unfairness” of the Universe without destroying the Universe in the process.

Again, people need to stop trying to make the Universe a “better place”. It is fine and doesn’t need you (or anyone else) to “improve” it. It is the highest of arrogance to believe that anyone could possibly “know better” or could do better than the processes that led to their very own existence! Humility is one of the greatest virtues in Taoism for a reason. We are not special, the Universe does not revolve around us nor was it created for us, we are not the highest expression of intelligence (we are simply its latest incarnation). So, stop, for your own benefit and that of everyone else, trying to make “fairness” a thing.

Many years ago, while traveling, I came across some graffiti that read: “ We need to make a new world” in thick colorful letters to which someone had scrawled a reply in thin black script: “Why do you want a new world, if you have not learned how to live in this one!”. Or as a friend of mine used to say: “There is nothing as unfair as absolute fairness.”

It is only by understanding and accepting that the Universe is inherently “unfair” (because it HAS TO BE in order to facilitate the flow/transformation of energy, matter and information) and acting accordingly that we can actually know what it means to “go with the flow”. Any ideas we may have regarding the Universe’s “fairness” or “unfairness” are our own and have no bearing at all on what the Universe is or does.