Confucius was a Chinese philosopher, teacher, and politician during the Spring and Autumn period (Circa 551 BC) whose works, teachings, and message became the main guiding principle for over thousands of years in China.
He was traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages, thus, this led to the existence of Confucianism - an ancient Chinese belief system (whether it is a mere philosophy or a religion is being up to debate) which linchpins the importance of morality and personal ethics.
He believed that learning benefits a lifetime, contributes to the moral outlook of one's life and that everyone - every single one of us, deserves to be educated. Here are some of his most famous works:
“If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?”
When you are aware that your decisions and actions are correct and when you believe that they will lead to the greater good without anyone’s life being stepped on, there is nothing to worry for worry is only a product of mistakes and wrong choices. Worrying is part of life but there is a different type of worry that keeps people up at night, the type that gnaws the insides – guilt. You will not have to feel guilty if you know you are doing the right thing. There is no worry, fear, and guilt when the right decision is chosen.
“He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”
Thinking isn’t synonymous with learning the same way intellect isn’t the same as wisdom. There is a difference between having learned something and using/applying what you have learned. When you’re willing to grow as an individual and you want to exclude/stop yourself from being in the same pattern of mistakes, you will have to apply what you have learned. You can’t just say you’ve already learned your lesson when you don’t know how to use it and worse when you can’t ever change. The greatest danger above all, as implied in this quote, is being aware of the consequences but leading straight into it – that is what it means to think without learning.
“When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.”
We follow the steps of those who inspire us because it is through them that we find encouragement. Their success is a product of their hard work and when we see that, we realize they deserve it, thus, we see their worth. Through this, we want to be equally deserving of our own goals and dreams the same way we see worth in those who inspire us. We want to be as deserving as them, but when we see people with who we do not share the same ideals, rather than wanting to change them, we should examine ourselves first. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with them, maybe it’s just us. Maybe they’re right and we’re just simply wrong. Or maybe we just don’t have the same level of perception or the same eye on things and that is completely okay as long as there is respect towards each other’s boundaries.
“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.”
Trust is very important and very fragile but it won’t be broken unless you give it to those who deserve it. It is more humiliating and upsetting to trust people easily than to be deceived by them because you are also one to blame for trusting them. Trust, similar to respect, should be earned, not given so carelessly. You should not put your trust in people who act and treat others indifferently because there’s a greater chance that they will do unto you, what they do unto others. Watch how they treat other people and how they treat you, observe whether or not they deserve your trust.
“I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being.”
Who are you when no one else is around? Is it someone you’re comfortable with? Is it someone who despite having flaws, still carries on to change and be better? Is it someone you are proud of? Are you familiar with yourself or are you more accustomed to the camouflage of personalities that you’ve gained from the people around you? Or are you more than just flesh and bones? Because we are not only defined by one word as we are very much capable of being good and being bad. That alone is enough, to sum up how complex we are as human beings. We do not only have one personality, we change, we learn, and we show different versions of ourselves depending on the people we are with. We have a version of ourselves that is social, while another version likes to be alone at times. We have a version that is liked by others and a version that is disliked by some but all these versions are solely up to us. We do not have to hide the real us and if ever we dislike a certain personality that we have, it is our duty to learn and grow. We are our own best friend and our own enemy, therefore, it is only us who knows exactly who and what we are. The center of our being lies within us and that is everything there is to the complexity of our soul.
