Confucius said, "A gentleman can achieve the golden mean, but a villain runs counter to it. A gentleman is impartial and keeps pace with the times; The villains are fearless and willful. 」
There is no fixed body in the middle, but it is everywhere.
Zhu said: "China has no fixed body, but it exists at any time." The clock changes with the time, and the time does not simply refer to time. How to achieve "neutrality" is always related to the change of "time" (times, opportunities and current situation).
For example, Yao passed the throne to Shun, and Shun passed the throne to Yu. The rulers of the previous generation will choose suitable successors. It was the age of abdication. Later, the old rulers would suppress the new forces, and the merchants had to choose exile to replace the Xia dynasty, but had to crusade to replace the Shang dynasty. This was the revolutionary era. Shang Zhouwang once imprisoned Zhou Wenwang. For Zhou Wuwang, it is foolish and inappropriate to expect a wise monarch like Yao Shunyu to step down voluntarily.
For another example, we often say that it is better to laugh than to cry, and we should laugh at life, but you are still laughing at the funeral, which is not "timely" or "successful". Everything has its nature, which is a universal principle, a natural fate, and contains infinite truth in triviality.
Know when to stop.
"University" said: "Being a gentleman stops at benevolence; Being a minister ends with respect, being a son ends with filial piety. Being a father stops at kindness. Making friends with China people ends with letters. Fulfill the responsibilities of life, that is, responsibilities correspond to roles. What are the responsibilities as teachers? What are the responsibilities of students? What are the obligations of parents and children? Have we done our duty?
Moreover, living in this world, everyone is in a different "time" every time. So, do we know our time? If we can really see through these things, maybe our steps on the road of life will be more solid. For example, we often hear college students say that they can't study hard because of the pressure of finding a job in the future, which is actually putting the cart before the horse. Confucius said, "If you don't suffer from nowhere, you will suffer." As a student, what you can grasp now is to study hard, and the most fundamental thing is to seize the opportunity of learning and enrich yourself. In today's era of advanced communication, a truly capable person will never lack opportunities, and a person without ability will only get twice the result with half the effort in advance anyway. So, when I was a student, I should ask myself first: What can I do? If there is a chance to deliver it to your door, do I have the ability to grasp it?