On Fate

In the investment business you see really talented people not making it. What I find so amazing is that few really want to face this fact. All kind of excuses are identified why these particular investors were stubborn, made mistakes or whatever else it is that people come up with. Tell them that perhaps it was fate and they will likely roll their eyes. It is hard for the 'I' to accept defeat, so we come up with all kind of explanations of why defeat is not an option for us personally. 

You know the expression 'Hollywood ending' for the simple reason that in the US the hero is not supposed to die. In the Greek tragedy the heroes did die, but the Greek found solace in the fact that the tales of the hero would live on in the minds of future generations. So even in this perspective there is ego involvement.

The path of the Tao is a different one. Empires rise and they crumble and the Tao traveler is a happy by-stander in all cases. Sure, your ego has involvement, but you have always the option to step out of it. Find the spiritual meaning in all the events and see for yourself whether they manage to make you whole and bring you to the core of your being. The journey of the Tao is not really a philosophy, nor is it a religion, it is an experiment. Try and see for yourself whether it is true.