Summary
In (source::Triggers), Marshall Goldsmith tells the parable of The Empty Boat based on a Zen tale by Zhuang Zhou.
A young farmer was covered with sweat as he paddled his boat up the river. He was going upstream to deliver his produce to the village. It was a hot day, and he wanted to make his delivery and get home before dark. As he looked ahead, he spied another vessel, heading rapidly downstream toward his boat. He rowed furiously to get out of the way, but it didn’t seem to help.
He shouted, “Change direction! You are going to hit me!” To no avail. The vessel hit his boat with a violent thud. He cried out, “You idiot! How could you manage to hit my boat in the middle of this wide river?” As he glared into the boat, seeking out the individual responsible for the accident, he realized no one was there. He had been screaming at an empty boat that had broken free of its moorings and was floating downstream with the current.
Just as an empty boat triggers anger, we move through life sometimes being emotional at things that we cannot control.
We get carried away by emotional responses to things/people that we sometimes forget that not everything is caused by that thing/person.
related:: Hanlon’s Razor
related:: the Lighthouse and the Naval Ship