Today is also my friend Cathrine's 60th birthday. Happy Birthday, Cathrine! I love it when people turn sixty, because it gives me an excuse to show off my modest knowledge of the Chinese classics :-) Confucius actually has something interesting to say about turning sixty. Here are the words of the Master:
The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.
"At thirty, I stood firm.
"At forty, I had no doubts.
"At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.
"At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth.
"At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right."
"At thirty, I stood firm.
"At forty, I had no doubts.
"At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.
"At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth.
"At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right."
Confucius, The Analects, trans. by James Legge
Who knew that you have to wait till you're sixty before your ear can be "an obedient organ for the reception of truth"? So if Confucius is right, then my ear is still a disobedient organ. Which means you should excuse me if you find that I am not understanding your blog comments correctly :-)
Thank you for that Nobel! And I have to say I believe it to be true; as you know from our conversation earlier today.
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